How Does Western Media Shape Our Perceptions of China?

How Does Western Media Shape Our Perceptions of China?
Sep 10, 2014 By Jamie Peters , eChinacities.com

From Marco Polo to Fu Manchu, the West has never tired of its fascination with China; closed off from the West for centuries, and the site of some of the biggest political upheavals of the 20th Century, China is a constant source of fascination, wonder and distrust.

Prominent figures in Chinese media have long accused the West of presenting a biased view of China; given China’s own extreme media controls and propaganda campaigns, these claims – presented as lengthy editorials in prominent state run publications and full of language that sounds outdated and odd when translated into English – are very easy to dismiss as paranoid or even absurd. But beyond this, remains the question: how is Western media reporting shaping the Western view of China? The image seen by our friends, families, neighbors and everyone who has ever asked you in a hushed tone, “Do they really eat dogs over there?”

Many major English language news stations have a particularly strong focus on China, with dedicated sections devoted just to reporting on the Middle Kingdom; and why not? As the most populous country in the world and the world’s second largest economy, it stands to reason that the world would focus much of its attention here.

Western view of China
Photo: Dan

Edward Said examined the West’s view of Asian and African cultures through Orientalism and defines it as the essentializing of another culture as underdeveloped or childlike; although no one is denying China’s rapid development and economic achievements, there is more a sense that while the West acknowledges that China is developing, it is developing in the wrong way, and this is reflected in the mainstream media.

Western media is undeniably an important resource – with such strictly controlled domestic media, foreign media occupies an essential space in the global narrative of China. But whilst Chinese media is heavily weighted towards following Xi Jinping around on state business and almost gleefully reporting civil unrest and disasters in other countries, a large proportion of Western reportage in turn limits our portrayal of China and Chinese people as weird, oppressed and dangerous.

China is Weird

The west has an insatiable appetite for weird news from China and many media platforms (including this one) both Chinese and Western, have sections dedicated specifically to bizarre happenings in the Middle Kingdom.

Imperial Britain used propaganda to great advantage throughout the history of the empire – by the time of the Opium Wars, new technology was available, and for the first time people in Britain were able to see glimpses of life in the colonies. Photographs and accounts of what were perceived as barbaric practices such as unusual execution methods, capital punishments and foot binding were sent home and analyzed and in turn, used to directly justify the actions of British empire at the time; as Julia Lovell points out in her book on the Opium War, “Foreign policy hawks in 1840 repeated loudly that violence against China ‘was honourable and inevitable’ until, in the popular imagination, it became so.”

These images and accounts contributed greatly to the construction of the Chinese image in the British public’s conscious as strange, exotic and ultimately alien, making it easier to justify imperial action against them.

Nowadays we have social media and blogs, and instead of foot binding we have stories of parents selling their children for an Iphone, zoos trying to pass off dogs as lions and in 2011, the tragic and shocking story of Yueyue, the toddler who was ignored by over a dozen passersby as she lay dying in the street from a double hit and run.

And those are the stories that are true. The Daily Mail published an article in 2012 during the Airpocalpyse that stated that people in Beijing were “flocking to huge digital commercial screens to observe virtual sunrises” in the midst of the air pollution crisis – in reality, as pointed out in an article by Tech in Asia, the sunrise was on the screen for 10 seconds as part of an advertisement for Shandong Province – the photograph, perhaps originally intended as a pointed visual juxtaposition, was taken out of context and an entire story was constructed around it, and spread around the world, in hours.

So is it really harmful, or is it just fun? The fact is, that a constant stream of news and images that portray Chinese people as weird and strange has brought us to a point that we’re willing to believe any crazy thing that’s printed about China; never mind that these stories are about individuals in a vastly multi-faceted and densely populated country that are not all unanimous; or that the majority of Chinese people are looking on at these stories with the same gobsmacked wonder that we are; when we’re constantly presented with one view of a ‘unanimous’ culture, is it any wonder that it taints our view of its people?

China is Dangerous

Besides the latest food scandals, violent attacks, freak accidents and pollution turning rivers red, it would be easy to forgive someone for thinking that China is a dangerous place to live, and with the recent territorial conflicts with Japan, Vietnam and the Philippines,  it’s understandable that China’s neighbors are watching China’s growth with trepidation. In any case of military intervention, building up the image of China as a dangerous place in the minds of the people would only be beneficial to these governments’ end goals.

In the case of America, it seems that this goal has already been achieved by the mainstream media. Looking at how Western media reporting has affected the way that people view China and its seemingly unstoppable development, results are not positive. In fact, recent statistics from a survey conducted by Gallup, suggest that 53 percent of Americans surveyed view China ‘unfavorably’ and 46 percent of people view China’s military power as a direct threat to the US.

Results like this are convenient for the American government, as it does not only distract from negative news within their own borders in terms of attention by the media, but reporting on this dangerous ‘other’ also helps generate waves of domestic nationalism.

Conclusion
All in all, scandal sells and newspapers can’t control what their readers are going to click on, or choose to read. Furthermore, the work of Western journalists in China who often do admirable work in adverse circumstances shouldn’t be disparaged. But it’s important to look at how and why we view China the way we do, in order to ensure that irrational generalizations do not take over the media, especially for those abroad with no first-hand experience of China as a country, or the people.

The Nigerian novelist, Chimimanda Adichie, spoke about the dangers of a single story; of viewing an entire culture or group of people through a very narrow lens, until we are unable to perceive them beyond this view. In an internet age, where anyone can upload an article or opinion to be viewed by the entire world, responsibility for our perceptions lie with ourselves. So next time you click on some crazy news about China, remember the millions of other stories that haven’t been told.

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Keywords: perceptions of China Western view of China

14 Comments

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Guest2301264

I was disappointed to find out not everyone knew Kung Fu...When I side kicked a Yeye in the park doing Tai Chi he looked at me like I was crazy. :(

Oct 27, 2014 18:44 Report Abuse

khrishenerodrigo

Well, I have to give some credit to the writer coz of his unbiased opinion on a very sensitive topic. I've lived in china for about 10 years and I have to say china is pretty much of a mix bag of everything. I do think western media has been unfair to china when it comes to reporting certain things such as freedom, human rights and domestic issues. Nevertheless western media has partly overlooked at the way average Chinese joes behave. I think what's really alarming about Chinese person is his lack of sensitivity to his fellow citizens and nature. My personal experience with Chinese tells me that these negative qualities of Chinese have a profund effect on foreigner's perception of china and only time can tell when it's gonna chane. What's interesting also about those negative qualities such as spitting in public places is the fact that large majority of Chinese despice those very same behaviors of their country men. I think it's fair to say that china needs time to mend those loopholes and western media need more exposure to the realities of china if they want to understand Chinese ways.

Sep 10, 2014 23:47 Report Abuse

Englishuk

Media is controlled in the west just as much as in china. we are fed general very shallow news.. you have to go to alternative sources to get real reporting. Yes the media does sometimes portray china as dangerous and I have noticed there is a focus on china's internal debt by economists.. they tend to overlook the fact that china has huge gold reserves to back up their currency. and has healthy exports. compared to . lets say the USA.. it is as if they cant admit that the USA is bankrupt in reality and that China is better positioned economically. a sour grapes view..

Sep 10, 2014 18:57 Report Abuse

Samsara

"Media is controlled in the West just as much as in china." What a ridiculously unfounded statement. The thousands of independent media organisations in the West, and contributing journalists and media sources around the globe, do not have to submit their stories to a party-affiliated propaganda department for harmonisation. In Australia (and I daresay ALL Western countries) we can watch foreign news reports produced in foreign countries on free public TV. Including news reports criticising our own country, our own government, our government's misuse of public funds and its members' assets, and other countries' perspectives on international disputes. China (I'm not sure if you've heard of it) has amongst the most draconian restrictions on journalism and reporting in the world (surpassed only by Eritrea and North Korea). I think what you meant to say was "News media generally has an agenda or bias." There is utterly no comparison between the sheer diversity of World News available outside China and the one-track flag-waving jingoism of CCTV News.

Sep 10, 2014 20:12 Report Abuse

Englishuk

our conventional media is more obsessed by a movies starts new breast augmentation than it is by real news. look at the reporting in the uk about MP's fees and freebies. the only reason the story broke was due to an American lady who was researching corruption in government. she was not a journalist. the journalists whose job it is to research and unearth new stories, did not have a clue about the situation until this book was published. I am afraid in todays world the watergate scandal would never have been uncovered with todays modern journalists. there is not such thing as a true investigative journalist anymore.. yes there are good news sources, but they are not mainstream.. mainstream media like to peddle badly researched and sometimes incorrect news.. oh and mainly they like to report on the latest boob job.. look at reporting of gun control in the usa. if you listen to the main outlets it is to blame for rises in violent crime. the real figures released by police departments show violent crime decreasing in states where conceal and carry is a allowed. whose agenda are the mainstream media following there? they certainly are not reporting the truth.

Sep 11, 2014 02:08 Report Abuse

Englishuk

but further in answer to you, you do raise some good points, we do have a more diverse media. but most of it is is so shallow as not to be news at all. there are very good sources I use, but none are part of the mainstream media.. yes all media in every country has a bias.. it is an unfortunate truth of the world, that despite our global economy and ability to connect with other cultures easily, there are still these biases and divisions. but our media is under some control, it is more subtle, but it is there.

Sep 11, 2014 02:14 Report Abuse

Samsara

Someone published an inaccurate story about the smog in Beijing? Poooooor China. Be thankful the Western media doesn't report the eye gouging, ear cutting, finger snipping and penis biting of children by family members. And baby flushing. And forced abortions. And labor camps. And primary school student rape. And frequent disappearance of high school and university girls. And an endless stream of images of Chinese people spitting and pooping in public. If the Western media presented an ACCURATE picture of China, China's approval rating would be a lot lower than it is. The Western media is still treating China with undeserved sensitivity. Be VERY thankful, China.

Sep 10, 2014 18:42 Report Abuse

Burak43

Samsara, you should be a baseball player, because you hit it out of the ballpark!

Sep 15, 2014 18:31 Report Abuse

bill8899

Western media never did and does not shape my view of China.

Sep 10, 2014 13:16 Report Abuse

jagottsicher

I didn't notice much of the news of the foreign media about China until I lived here. But after nearly 3 years here I read some horror-news every day. Of course these news are already filtered as they are in the US (agree to Bozo), but here there is often a big lag of information, or really violent stories I never read similar stuff in european news or just some boring f**k about some wannabe-celebs. "So next time you click on some crazy news about China, remember the millions of other stories that haven’t been told." - I do - and so I am even more scared.

Sep 10, 2014 12:54 Report Abuse

Burak43

I didn't become truly critical of China until I came here. I actually think that western media lets China off way too easily.

Sep 10, 2014 09:48 Report Abuse

JacobJohn

yeah, whatever!

Sep 10, 2014 04:39 Report Abuse

carlstar

news says what it wants on the web. it is the web. in a country with real and proper news, china is what it is, another country doing things that do things in the world and some of those things get picked up. in a country with news bought and paid for then China is whatever you want it to be. Just like it is in China and we know who has paid for it just like we know who i mean where news is paid for.... News is news and if you can't work it out for yourself then shut up when stuff actually happens. Similar to how i don't care about some Pop BS or some famous person showing their ass or getting married.

Sep 10, 2014 01:58 Report Abuse