[Continuing from last entry]
The CCP buys overseas scholars, especially China scholars, with money, status, and fame. Some such scholars then closely follow the CCP’s rhetoric, publishing books and articles to explain the CCP’s “peaceful rise,” the concepts of the “China dream” or the “China model.” The viewpoints of these scholars then indirectly influence the China policies of Western governments — precisely the CCP’s goal.
To make things worse, over the past several decades, Western humanities scholars and sociologists have been heavily influenced by strains of communist ideology. With a small amount of CCP influence, they can go from merely supporting leftist ideology to actually embracing communism.
Coercing and Using Overseas Chinese Leaders, Businessmen, and Students
The CCP has successfully exploited the patriotism of overseas Chinese students to create sympathy for CCP policies and ideology. To gain the support of overseas Chinese, the CCP provides them with financial support. It frequently uses the phrase “the love for one’s homeland, the friendship of kin” as part of its deliberate conflation of China and the CCP in order to deceive overseas Chinese. The Party also uses an extensive overseas network of organizations, supporters, and spies to marginalize and attack its opponents.
The CCP uses various pretexts to invite overseas Chinese to do business and invest in China. It gives overseas Chinese leaders special treatment when visiting the country, arranges overseas pro-CCP figures to meet with high-ranking officials, and has them all attend PRC national-day celebrations.
Zach Dorfman, senior fellow at Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs, published a long investigative report in Politico revealing Chinese and Russian espionage activities in Silicon Valley, with particular focus on Chinese actors.[29] The report examined Rose Pak, the San Francisco Chinese powerbroker, as an example. It noted that the CCP used Pak to have the Chinese Chamber of Commerce in San Francisco marginalize Falun Gong, Tibetan, pro-Taiwanese, and Uyghur groups, preventing them from participating in the Chinese New Year parade.
The USCC report also exposed how Chinese Student and Scholar Associations (CSSA) are controlled by the CCP. On their own website, some CSSA branches directly state that they were established by the local Chinese consulate or are its subsidiaries,[30] while in other cases, the control is carried out clandestinely. These organizations receive orders from the Chinese consulates, preventing any dissonant voices from being aired. Consulate officials harass, intimidate, and monitor students who dissent from the CCP line.
CSSAs and those affiliated with them sometimes even conduct industrial and economic espionage. In 2005, France’s Le Monde reported that the CSSA at the University of Leuven, Belgium, was the CCP’s front-line spy group in the country. Sometimes such networks consist of several hundred spies working in various companies in Europe.[31]
Infiltrating and Influencing the Movie and Entertainment Industries
In recent years, the CCP has increased efforts at infiltrating the U.S. entertainment industry. In 2012, Wanda Group spent US$2.6 billion to acquire AMC, the second-largest theater chain in the United States. Since then, it has acquired Legendary Entertainment for $3.5 billion, and Carmike, the fourth-largest theater chain in the United States, for $1.1 billion.[32] In 2016, Ali Pictures acquired a stake in Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Partners, and will place a representative on the Amblin Partners board of directors to participate in major decision-making there.[33]
One of the CCP’s main goals in infiltrating the entertainment industry is to have the world follow the CCP’s script — painting a positive image of the CCP and China’s so-called peaceful rise to conceal the regime’s tyrannical ambitions. At the same time, this image covers up how the exportation of Party culture has corrupted the world. From 1997 to 2013, China invested in only twelve Hollywood films out of the top one hundred highest-grossing movies. But in the ensuing five years, China invested in forty-one of Hollywood’s most popular movies.[34]
Hollywood covets China’s rapidly growing movie market, and executives are well- aware that they’ll be excluded from it if they fail to toe the Party line. Thus, they set about ensuring they are in compliance with Chinese censorship.[35] American movie stars who’ve taken a stand on the CCP are blocked from entering the country, or their films are excluded from the Chinese market. Hollywood star Richard Gere’s clear expression of his position on Tibet, for instance, not only led to his being denied access to China, but also limited his own career even in the United States. In order not to offend or provoke the CCP, film producers have declined to invest in his films.[36] Other movie stars have been blacklisted for other transgressions.
Intimidating Overseas Dissidents
The CCP has used intimidation and incentives to influence Western scholars, especially China experts who are critical of the CCP. This has led many to willingly self-censor. Intimidation includes refusal to issue visas, which has the greatest impact on young scholars. For the sake of professional development, many voluntarily avoid human rights, Tibet issues, and other sensitive topics that might attract the Party’s ire.
Perry Link, a professor of East Asian Studies, was put on the blacklist for his scholarship on the Tiananmen Square massacre, which put the communist regime in an unfavorable light. His treatment subsequently turned into a lesson for young scholars as to what not to do.[37]
In October 2017, Benedict Rogers, deputy chairman of the British Conservative Party’s Human Rights Commission and supporter of the Hong Kong Democratic Movement, went to Hong Kong for personal activities but was refused entry and repatriated at the Hong Kong airport.[38]
The aforementioned report by the USCC also said that Chinese intelligence agents attempt to recruit ethnic minorities, including Uyghurs living abroad, to act as spies. Refusal may lead to persecution of their family in China. Uyghurs who have been threatened state that the purpose of such threats is not only to collect information about the Uyghur diaspora, but also to create discord and prevent them from effectively opposing the CCP.[39]
From Chapter Eighteen
The Chinese Communist Party’s Global Ambitions
Richard Gere’s clear expression of his position on Tibet, for instance, not only led to his being denied access to China, but also limited his own career even in the United States
Controlling Entertainment Industry
The CCP buys overseas scholars, especially China scholars, with money, status, and fame. Some such scholars then closely follow the CCP’s rhetoric, publishing books and articles to explain the CCP’s “peaceful rise,” the concepts of the “China dream” or the “China model.” The viewpoints of these scholars then indirectly influence the China policies of Western governments — precisely the CCP’s goal.
To make things worse, over the past several decades, Western humanities scholars and sociologists have been heavily influenced by strains of communist ideology. With a small amount of CCP influence, they can go from merely supporting leftist ideology to actually embracing communism.
Coercing and Using Overseas Chinese Leaders, Businessmen, and Students
The CCP has successfully exploited the patriotism of overseas Chinese students to create sympathy for CCP policies and ideology. To gain the support of overseas Chinese, the CCP provides them with financial support. It frequently uses the phrase “the love for one’s homeland, the friendship of kin” as part of its deliberate conflation of China and the CCP in order to deceive overseas Chinese. The Party also uses an extensive overseas network of organizations, supporters, and spies to marginalize and attack its opponents.
The CCP uses various pretexts to invite overseas Chinese to do business and invest in China. It gives overseas Chinese leaders special treatment when visiting the country, arranges overseas pro-CCP figures to meet with high-ranking officials, and has them all attend PRC national-day celebrations.
Zach Dorfman, senior fellow at Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs, published a long investigative report in Politico revealing Chinese and Russian espionage activities in Silicon Valley, with particular focus on Chinese actors.[29] The report examined Rose Pak, the San Francisco Chinese powerbroker, as an example. It noted that the CCP used Pak to have the Chinese Chamber of Commerce in San Francisco marginalize Falun Gong, Tibetan, pro-Taiwanese, and Uyghur groups, preventing them from participating in the Chinese New Year parade.
The USCC report also exposed how Chinese Student and Scholar Associations (CSSA) are controlled by the CCP. On their own website, some CSSA branches directly state that they were established by the local Chinese consulate or are its subsidiaries,[30] while in other cases, the control is carried out clandestinely. These organizations receive orders from the Chinese consulates, preventing any dissonant voices from being aired. Consulate officials harass, intimidate, and monitor students who dissent from the CCP line.
CSSAs and those affiliated with them sometimes even conduct industrial and economic espionage. In 2005, France’s Le Monde reported that the CSSA at the University of Leuven, Belgium, was the CCP’s front-line spy group in the country. Sometimes such networks consist of several hundred spies working in various companies in Europe.[31]
Infiltrating and Influencing the Movie and Entertainment Industries
In recent years, the CCP has increased efforts at infiltrating the U.S. entertainment industry. In 2012, Wanda Group spent US$2.6 billion to acquire AMC, the second-largest theater chain in the United States. Since then, it has acquired Legendary Entertainment for $3.5 billion, and Carmike, the fourth-largest theater chain in the United States, for $1.1 billion.[32] In 2016, Ali Pictures acquired a stake in Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Partners, and will place a representative on the Amblin Partners board of directors to participate in major decision-making there.[33]
One of the CCP’s main goals in infiltrating the entertainment industry is to have the world follow the CCP’s script — painting a positive image of the CCP and China’s so-called peaceful rise to conceal the regime’s tyrannical ambitions. At the same time, this image covers up how the exportation of Party culture has corrupted the world. From 1997 to 2013, China invested in only twelve Hollywood films out of the top one hundred highest-grossing movies. But in the ensuing five years, China invested in forty-one of Hollywood’s most popular movies.[34]
Hollywood covets China’s rapidly growing movie market, and executives are well- aware that they’ll be excluded from it if they fail to toe the Party line. Thus, they set about ensuring they are in compliance with Chinese censorship.[35] American movie stars who’ve taken a stand on the CCP are blocked from entering the country, or their films are excluded from the Chinese market. Hollywood star Richard Gere’s clear expression of his position on Tibet, for instance, not only led to his being denied access to China, but also limited his own career even in the United States. In order not to offend or provoke the CCP, film producers have declined to invest in his films.[36] Other movie stars have been blacklisted for other transgressions.
Intimidating Overseas Dissidents
The CCP has used intimidation and incentives to influence Western scholars, especially China experts who are critical of the CCP. This has led many to willingly self-censor. Intimidation includes refusal to issue visas, which has the greatest impact on young scholars. For the sake of professional development, many voluntarily avoid human rights, Tibet issues, and other sensitive topics that might attract the Party’s ire.
Perry Link, a professor of East Asian Studies, was put on the blacklist for his scholarship on the Tiananmen Square massacre, which put the communist regime in an unfavorable light. His treatment subsequently turned into a lesson for young scholars as to what not to do.[37]
In October 2017, Benedict Rogers, deputy chairman of the British Conservative Party’s Human Rights Commission and supporter of the Hong Kong Democratic Movement, went to Hong Kong for personal activities but was refused entry and repatriated at the Hong Kong airport.[38]
The aforementioned report by the USCC also said that Chinese intelligence agents attempt to recruit ethnic minorities, including Uyghurs living abroad, to act as spies. Refusal may lead to persecution of their family in China. Uyghurs who have been threatened state that the purpose of such threats is not only to collect information about the Uyghur diaspora, but also to create discord and prevent them from effectively opposing the CCP.[39]
From Chapter Eighteen
The Chinese Communist Party’s Global Ambitions
Richard Gere’s clear expression of his position on Tibet, for instance, not only led to his being denied access to China, but also limited his own career even in the United States
Controlling Entertainment Industry