Ex China state media commentary writer. Interests: disinfo, comms, and cronuts.
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One is Xinhua's Jiang Jiang, who states in his newsletter: "views not representing Xinhua". However, a recent Xinhua article said, stating it was "created by the External Dept", and listing all the ways its studios are supported / censored. Reference to Jiang Jiang was later deleted.
Substack has seen a quiet proliferation of Chinese state media accounts. Many are posing as 'independent journalists' — in fact, according to bosses, they are state-backed "studios", with the aim of subtly influencing "western elites" "drip-by-drip". Most recent investigation, now free to read~
Is he ever right..?
*WHO guidelines recommend annual average concentrations of PM2.5 should not exceed 5 µg/m3 — meaning China is 6x higher. Also. Pick your moment, guys. Today, is a "purple" day, with Beijing hitting 252 PM2.5. 😷
Xiangyu, a pro-Beijing Taiwanese rapper released a song about the DPP 'selling out'. CGTN offered to amplify it—but only if he made "politically sensitive" changes. Cue a hasty chorus rewrite, from: 🎶Taiwan is our home, we are Taiwanese🎶 -to- 🎶We are Chinese, our homeland is called Taiwan Province🎶
👈 The hope The reality 👉 (Incidentally, Luke's now deleted the QRT)
Oh dear. Luke, a Brit who moved to Xinjiang, primarily as a shot in the arm for his influencer aspirations, and be state media's go-to foreign face on Uyghur issues, writes a long thread on XUAR's subtle political differences. Backfires. Gets full wrath from the botfarm.
Mind-blowing stats on nurseries in China: the number of births has fallen by half *since 2017*, leading to a collapse in early years provision. The future impact on primary and secondary education is going to be seismic. www.ft.com/content/8271...
Paraphrased. Source here, from 21m10. x.com/i/spaces/1rm...
CGTN's Jason Smith is currently hosting a livestream on X. "Chinese police are so safe! We went to a rural place in Qinghai and the police met us at the station and told us we couldn't be there. They followed us. There must have been a military base or something. I've never had an escort before!" 🧐
a) Very kind. 🍻 b) That tracks. If so, wonder how long it'd take to finish Operation: Secure Family Assets.
a) I've been enjoying this newsletter a lot, you should check it out b) I think if Xi went now he would probably be remembered half-well - basically for the 2010s successes - but if he sticks around another five, ten years or more he will be categorized like Brezhnev.
State media often portray Xi as a great diplomat. Numbers say different. Worldwide, confidence in Xi lags China everywhere (except India). Interestingly, some of the biggest gaps are with China's close political partners. A case of: "Love the country/money—just not the Party"?
This year, China will borrow $2.50 for every $1 of economic growth. This is not normal. Xi has exploded borrowing, taking China from one of the least indebted countries globally, to one of the most in just a decade. All in, Gov debt now 312% of GDP. And it's speeding up~
President Xi is by far the most powerful leader in China's recent history. But we're 13 years in, and his tenure has been one of economic mismanagement, disastrous foreign policy, and debt. A lot of debt. How will historians remember him? Probably not fondly.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping isn’t quite the frequent flier he used to be. The most well-traveled leader in China’s history has reduced his international journeys in recent years, but he continues active diplomacy—as a host. A @wsj.com analysis on Xi's travel patterns since he took power in late 2012.
Utterly, utterly terrifying. At one point, a guy gets a louder round of applause for saying he's "a Nazi" than one does for saying he's a Christian.
Although, you already knew this.. *cough* *cough*
New figures from the China’s National Immigration Administration out today. A total of 38 million foreigners visited/left China in H1 2025. Up 30% year-on-year — but still down 20% compared to H1 2019. Numbers very different to state media messaging. No boom. Yet.
Interesting Pew research on global opinions on China Negative views persist in Europe, but in 9/10 of those countries polled, China viewed more favourably than last yr France 23-36% Italy 35-45% Greece 47-56% Poland 26-35% Germany 20-29% UK 31-39% Netherlands 22-30% Hungary 44-51% Sweden 11-18%
My favourite part was the eclectic list of people she tagged, asking for engagement.
Six months?! What was the holdup? With the new company?
Tech too?
If it's the former, that puts China's total multi-year foreign expat population at less than 90,000. ...Or about this many nationwide~ (Bird's Nest stadium)
According to China's immigration office, it renewed only 72,000 resident permits nationwide last year. Considering ~700,000 permits were handed out, means either 90% of foreigners are leaving when their visa's up, or people are leaving and coming back on new visas..?
Whitewashing human rights for personal/institutional gain < Pidgin English
Many are aghast how Princeton University Press accepted an all-expenses paid trip to Xinjiang, and were willingly used for propaganda purposes — but there are signs they didn't exactly send their brightest.
Winning tickets to see Guns N' Roses. At Villa Park. In the sun. Week is off to a great start~ ☀️🎸
An ex-China state media worker did an interesting Reddit 'Ask Me Anything' the other day. Interesting read. 🧐 Not me. But it's def legit.
Long been warned/tipped off/congratulated that I'm read closely by some across Chinese state comms. Yet still v. strange to see it in action.
Wow. Magic. ✨ Last article, I noted: ““Potside Chats” is China Daily’s flagship brand for its foreign presenters, yet most videos on its Wechat account have single digit likes.” Now all those videos have increased by precisely ~100 likes. While others unchanged. 👈 Before. After. 👉
China’s factory-gate deflation worst in 22 months as economic headwinds mount – Reuters: ‘The producer price index fell 3.3% in May from a year earlier, worse than a 2.7% decline in April and the deepest contraction in 22 months, National Bureau of Statistics data showed on Monday.’
The middle one? Ed Lawrence, ex-BBC man. But three light blue shirts, here, doing little to dissuade the idea "all China watchers are the same"!
It's now June 5 in China and there was no post from the German embassy or ambassador on the Tiananmen anniversary Here's last year's, on the 35 anniversary. We hear a lot about how there'll be no human rights "grandstanding" from new chancellor Merz. Is this an early example?
And... *breathe* Last night was fun. Thank you to the China Correspondent's Club of London team who put it together, and all 90 (!) who crammed into a boiling room on a school night—especially the dozen hardy souls who had to stand. Fascinating chats after. And a lot of Wechat/Whatsapps exchanged~
If you remember, Andy did exactly the same thing, last year. That post hit 3.6m views and prompted BBC's John Simpson (an eyewitness) to reply and DW to mark it as 'Misleading' tinyurl.com/yck27tc8 A bigger problem for bosses was Andy *overstated* deaths, compared to official numbers. Deleted.
In what's becoming an annual tradition, Shanghai Daily's "Andy Boreham" tries posting "the truth" about Tiananmen Square... only to delete it hours later. Bosses aren't happy~
Holy moly. It's sold out. All 80. An hour to go and suddenly feel very faint.
Tomorrow night—Tuesday—I'll joining a panel of great peeps at the Frontline Club in London, discussing “Reporting In China”. They will explain the realities and challenges of journalism today, while I’ll share tidbits about how state media works. Over 60 tickets sold. A few left! All welcome!
Propaganda fail of the day ✨ Shen Shiwei — whose X bio plays up his "years in Africa", but forgets to mention he works for CGTN — posts how China is now "VISA FREE" to 47 countries. African followers soon spot there isn't a single country from their continent. It's at ~1 million views. 💀
"In my experience, so inept are some Chinese state media workers, so unable to grasp foreign audiences, or fashion leaden Party themes into a palatable product, many would have a greater positive impact on China’s reputation if they simply stayed home every day, and not bother go to work at all."
"The underlying fundamentals suggest we’re entering a new paradigm. One where the CPC has locked down its information sphere sufficiently enough, that it can allow only the stories it wants you to hear. The West, meanwhile, is reaching the point it lacks the will or capacity to penetrate that wall."
Weirdly, why I reacted. I'm off to Poland—should/is right to visit Auschwitz? So read around, and thing that hit wasn't just the evil, but Nazi mindfulness to hide. False camps for the Red Cross to visit; mail (post dated to after deaths). And then I read Jason's post, and was struck by similarity.
CCTV anchor accidentally refers to Taiwan and China as two countries, lol
2. If Jason actually read his linked source, he'd see CPC admit "data inconsistencies". And Han pop grew faster than Uyghur in recent years. Until 2017, Uyghur pop growth was remarkably consistent at +200k per year when (as jail campaign starts) it miraculously halves to +90k & +60k. Coincidence..?
There's a special circle in hell dedicated to foreigners who fly to China and get fat on CPC coin, parroting shite like this. A couple of things. This chart only goes to 2020. The crackdown years are disguised wholly in the last bar. 1/2
For some reason, he deleted this rant complaining how slow his censors are working.
Excuse me, while I hold my sides. Andy, a face for Shanghai Daily, has released a book called the "Wumao Handbook": a guide to debunking "false narratives" like Uyghur forced labour, Tibetan independence and citizens being 'disappeared'... Catch? You can't buy this book in China.
As China agrees to a set of uneven tariffs with the US, spare a thought for propagandists who for weeks have been telling everyone Beijing will "not bow down". Worse, an error makes it appear a visibly annoyed Andybot is glitching out trying to sell this one. Oh dear.
Pretty spot on recounting of events. www.nytimes.com/2025/05/10/w...
"We stand against hegemonic bullying," says two men who ban all opposition.
Also. 👇 Yeah. Fair. 😅 Apologies for the delay. These rambles are a hobby, mostly written late at night, from an attic. My day job is wholly different. I'm not paid for this. Also, the sun has been out. A friend visited from Australia. And.. *excuse*... *excuse*...
Exclusive. The PLA has launched a huge recruitment drive for its Beijing News Studio. 46 roles are being advertised for media graduates. I take a quick look at who.. what... plus how it all fits into wider things~
Foisted flag was about as subtle as a sledgehammer. Still. Congrats, Zhou Xintong. Classy win, by a supremely talented young chap. China's first ever world champion. 🎉
Apologies for not posting for a while, but offline is pretty bloody nice right now.
New: More than 3/4 of the mobile phones, games consoles, food processors, electric fans and toys shipped to the US last year were made in China. The products are among more than 50 items with an import value above $1bn subject to Trump’s 125% tariffs. Free-to-read link: on.ft.com/3Ei8ujf
Genuinely a problem across the board. You'll notice a few others have regressed recently too. Thanks to silo working / less native speaker involvement.
Chinese diplomats threatened to cancel a summit and called top officials in two African countries to pressure lawmakers to quit the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China, in an escalation of Chinese pressure in Africa. It shows how far China will go to wield clout abroad: apnews.com/article/chin...
Dialogue is good, and this is exactly what the Royal Family is for.
Essential reading. When people picture an "all-powerful autocratic cencorious state", they tend to forget it's humans making it work. And most, to varying degrees, don't believe in what they're doing. They're performing a role, watching the clock. This captures that banal, messy world perfectly~ 🌟
This is such a good read, and perhaps of educational value to Americans newly wondering what life under full-blown authoritarianism is like. From one of China's sharpest writers:
Normalising strikes and dehumanising the opposition? China's PLA are pushing this Overton window hard.
A story in 4 pictures. Full update coming soon~
Things Deepseek told me: +It rates President Xi as 8/10 +But only 7/10 for ethics +The judiciary is corrupt +Elections are a sham +Party is holding back state media +It thinks UK has a better government model +...and would prefer to live there
Howdy. As an ex-state media apparatchik, I thought who better to put Deepseek through its paces. Oh boy. It's definitely getting called in for some self-study sessions on Monday.
All for what? For this. 👈 Reuploads of Xinhua stories on the MPS website. Yup. A female editor could never fathom such complexities. The irony is they *have* built a special page celebrating "amazing" "inspiring" women. So, you have that, ladies~ 3/3
Those passing interviews, tests will be investigated. Social media, travel history, psychiatry etc. A field team will also be sent to investigate/interview the candidate's past work, family and friends. 2/3
China's Ministry of Public Security are hiring news editors. And the criteria are fascinating. +*Male only* +Beijinger only +Loyal to the Party (obv) +Can't have studied/lived abroad for 6 months. +No relative living abroad or married to a foreigner. And that's the start. 1/3
#MadMomentsInChineseComms. Official Gov spokesperson Mao Ning posts a clip of foreign Youtubers all repeating the same line on Chongqing. .. unaware the montage comes from Serpentza, and exposes how China directs "borrowed mouths". Sloppy.
Andy "debunks" a montage that exposed the plethora of Youtubers who recently posted identical videos from Chongqing. (He claims it's by X user TaraBull — actually it's Serpentza) Curiously most ire goes to the "lazy Youtubers". Andy would never be guilty of such "lazy content creation". Oh. Wait 👉
The more I meet people in the Chinasphere, the more I struggle to work out what a lot of them actually do. A lot of people stealing a living in this field~
Two rihgt
Absolutely right. Changed. Thanks~ 👍
Spot the American reporter who was so overcome with patriotism, he couldn't help but sing the Chinese anthem? Netizens did. It got 25,000 likes. A few observations from coverage of this year's Two Sessions, mixed in with tidbits on how it works behind the scenes.
Xi to local Ambassador: "No, no.. I said—"
China brokers Ukrainian Peas Agreement ✨ #PeasInOurTime
Good job 👍 #JournalismWithChineseCharacteristics
"My analysis is there will decisions, and talking.. And it may affect people. 😌" Such empty words. Two Sessions is both state media's golden hour — and it at its most cuckolded, vapid, and inefficant.
"Fight until the end". China might dress up language, for sake of their troop's egos, but every way you look at it, the reciprocal tariffs were lesser. Again. Are Beijing trying not to poke Trump? Or are they *that* worried about the domestic economy..? 🤔
Not an exaggeration to say this was pound-for-pound the most effective piece of US public diplomacy in China. Twitter was blocked, but U.S. embassy pollution tweets forced Beijing to start publishing its own pollution data, which fed public outrage. Result: millions breathing vastly less toxic air
#Statemediaworkerdirective Before pushing the Blue Skies narrative: look out your window.
Felt the shift. Talk radio was wall-to-wall disgust toward Trump. Friends who voted Brexit, want to rejoin the EU. Either he's an idiot—turned 'America First' into 'America Alone'. Or this is the greatest 4D chess: bolstering Zelensky, uniting fractured Europe, energising public, upping aid..
I was at the football last night. Blissfully unaware of any Oval Office press conference. Came out to a slightly changed world~
The creator is trying to get some traction. Interesting who he tags in.. 🧐
Oh my. Xinhua News Agency have just dropped their latest satire, and.. well. Prepare yourself for some accents. 🇺🇸 🇨🇦 🇫🇷 🇯🇵 & 🇲🇽(?)
"And that’s while they were busy accusing people like ME of being influenced by a foreign government!" In his latest video, Shanghai Daily's Andy mocks the idea he, or his studio, is "a CPC asset". If only there was proof. Oh. Wait.
Had a little chat. Base salaries up 20% on 2019 — but down on ludicrous ones offered during 2020-22 Covid squeeze. Oh. And HR really.. really struggling to recruit. Massive churn. Chronic morale problems. Much more than pre- "Party is my name" days. I knew it was bad, didn't realise how bad~
Got offered a job interview for CGTN today. They were dusting off old CVs and called me. Considered carrying on, to see how far I'd get, but recruiter is bloody lovely, and didn't want it to reflect back on them. So fessed up what I've been writing of late. "Oh.. So *controversial* stories."
New: Three decades after China liberalised its property market and ushered in a historic era of urbanisation, the state is back in force. Our latest visual investigation uses residential land sales to show that state-owned developers are propping up China’s housing sector. ig.ft.com/china-proper...
"With Europe browbeaten / pre-occupied by war, and a rusting US in full self-sabotage mode, China smells blood. Yet, CPC have learned lessons from last time. I doubt we'll see hectoring commentaries or Chinese ambassadors starting flame wars. Instead, a drip, drip, drip of quiet self-confidence."
Huh! I was literally just looking for an article like this! Thank you BlueSky gods/Yangyang/Li Jun~
One of my New Year's resolutions was to actually meet online acquaintances offline. Already ticked off a few interesting people. Got some free time tomorrow (Friday) in London if anyone is free to swap war stories~ 🍺☕ (DM)
Love Private Eye. I'm sure whoever wrote this is most handsome~
Grazie~
I'm happy for you to share, and delighted you took the time to translate, just quote your source, next time. @lenorebeadsman.bsky.social. Thank you~ toosimple.substack.com/p/china-reve...
