In the summer of 2024, this author participated in a media tour of China’s Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (XUAR), at the invitation of the State Information Council Office of the People’s Republic of China (PRC).
And what was found?
That despite the Western narrative of genocide, cultural repression and forced labor,...
An on-the-ground account challenging Western propaganda
Upon landing in Urumqi, the capital of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (commonly known as Xinjiang), it is evident that the Uyghurs, a Turkic-speaking Muslim minority, call this home.
As I exited the airport arrivals hall, I noticed a restaurant sign reading “EGG BOMB.” The...
As a progressive socialist country whose economic rise is helping to put an end to 500 years of Western imperialism, or as a capitalist-imperial rival to the U.S.?
The Biden administration has disappointed many of its supporters by adopting policies and rhetoric with regards to the People’s Republic of China...
Militarism and Diplomacy in the South China Sea: The Propaganda Machine is Mobilized
Andi Olluri - 4
A recent Pentagon conference on psychological warfare noted that the forces of indoctrination “cannot wait until a crisis begins.” A high-ranking chief at the Department of Defense suggested a model for propaganda, in no way new: “Look at marketing…What makes people drink Coke, what makes people drink Pepsi?” In...
CovertAction Bulletin – China’s COVID Outbreak and Protests: Myths and Facts
Rachel Hu and Chris Garaffa - 3
Western media described recent protests in China as “mark[ing] a new awakening” and represent a significant challenge to Xi Jinping and the Communist Party of China. After years of leading the world in addressing COVID-19, the Chinese government is indeed relaxing some of the lockdown regulations, but the situation is far more nuanced than the media is reporting.
“China Is Not Our Enemy” was the theme of a ten-day visit to China in early November. The visit was designed to find and highlight a path to common prosperity and a shared future between China, the United States, and the rest of the world. Visiting China made me...
CovertAction Bulletin – Tariffs and Tensions: Is Trump Really Shifting on China?
Rachel Hu and Chris Garaffa - 0
After almost a year of an escalating trade war, U.S. President Donald Trump met with Chinese President Xi Jinping in South Korea last week...
When Imperial China Had a Vietnamese Prime Minister: The Surprising Origins of Meritocracy—And Why It Outperforms the West More Than Ever
Felix Abt - 6
Political legitimacy thrives on competence and executing the people’s will—not on money and endless election campaigns
Long before the West ever seriously discussed equal opportunities, sophisticated concepts of meritocratic selection already existed in China. The Tang Dynasty state, in particular, is considered an early example of a system based on...
The U.S. Government and its media echo chamber accuse China of committing genocide against Muslims in Xinjiang when, despite some persecution, China has attempted to integrate the Uyghur population into China and lift a disadvantaged minority
Long before hitherto unknown Xinjiang, a western province of China, became a focal point...
In the last decade xenophobic tropes intended to stoke fear and loathing of Chinese have accelerated ominously in the American mainstream media as many public officials of both parties label China as our “adversary” or even our “enemy.”
This last formulation is deep cause for growing alarm, especially because many...









