China in the light of the German leading media
Spreading colonial stereotypes and creating an enemy stereotype
Own report of the editorial staff of “German Foreign Policy”
(18 November 2021) A recent study gives the China coverage of the German leading media a disastrous report. According to a comprehensive analysis presented by the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation (Die Linke), the predominant reporting on China is “characterised by an increased use of clichés and stereotypes, some of which date back to colonial times”.
“Negative connotations” are “to be found in almost all topics [...]”; mostly, “the influence of the thesis, which has been rekindled in the USA [...],” that China poses a threat “not only to the USA’s claim to leadership, but to the entire world”, is prominent.
The tone is largely set by Western and pro-Western voices, with “three Hong Kong activists” and Chris Patten, the last governor of the British Crown Colony, serving as “opinion leaders on Hong Kong”. The study confirms an earlier analysis by the Heinrich Böll Foundation (Bündnis 90/Die Grünen), which had already found in 2010 that German leading media promoted a “denunciatory image of Chinese society”.
“Mission instead of information”
In 2010, the Heinrich Böll Foundation conducted a comprehensive analysis of German reporting on China. It came to the conclusion – evaluating six leading print media as well as public television, including the Tagesschau – that a "core agenda" dominated the portrayal of the People’s Republic of China in Germany, which was noticeably determined by a “Eurocentric perspective”. Mostly, “critical information is put aside in favour of a kind of mission”.
All too often, “certain ideas and clichés about the country, obviously inherent in society, are propagated without reflection”, with “normatively pejorative images” shaping the discourse.1 One must speak of “an ongoing dissemination of existing stereotypes by the media”, “which are oriented more towards socially anchored symbols and platitudes” than towards a differentiated view of Chinese reality. There is a “danger that these stereotypes, which are usually extremely simplified and abbreviated, will become entrenched in the German public due to the amount of reports that spread these impressions”. This promotes a “very cliché-laden and in places also denunciatory image of Chinese society”.“Not on an equal footing”
A recent, very detailed study on German reporting on China has now been presented by the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation. The study analyses seven leading print media and focuses on the period from January to August 2020, when coverage was heavily influenced by the Covid-19 pandemic. It comes to similar conclusions as the Heinrich Böll Foundation eleven years earlier.
According to the study, the portrayal of the People’s Republic in the German leading media is “characterised by an increased use of clichés and stereotypes, some of which date back to colonial times”. Racist resentment is “predominantly rejected”, but “subtly integrated into other clichés” – such as the “connotation of [...] eating wild animals as ‘disgusting’”.2
The topic agenda, on the other hand, is, according to the study, “little differentiated overall and, moreover, predominantly determined by the perspective of German interests”. There is “a quasi systematic 'comparison' of China with German, European, Western values”, whereby “the contrast between 'us' and 'China' as 'the other' is emphasised”. In many cases, “'the other' is then presented as not being on an equal footing”. This leads “to the perpetuation of clichés and fears”.
“Threat scenarios from colonial contexts”
Overall, the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation notes, “negatively connoted statements [...] can be found in almost all topics, but especially in relation to the characterisation of Chinese domestic and foreign policy”. At the same time, “the historical and current complexity of the conflicts that preoccupy Chinese politics is rarely addressed”. The study underpins the one-sidedness of the reporting by pointing out that 88.4 percent of all contributions on Chinese domestic politics were “critical” or “very critical” in their assessment; the “neutral contributions” – just 9.4 percent – referred “predominantly to concrete events”, such as the postponement of the National People’s Congress, while there were only four contributions “in which the common practice of ‘comparing’ China’s political and social system against the West is not observed”, but in which the country is “attributed an intrinsic value, taking into account its cultural background and social reality”. Most of the time, “the influence of the thesis that has been rekindled in the USA [...]” that China is a threat “not only to the USA’s claim to leadership, but to the entire world” is apparent. This clearly “revives threat scenarios that stem from colonial and anti-communist contexts”.
The colonial governor as opinion leader
The Rosa Luxemburg Foundation study points out not least that Western politicians as well as specialists from Western think tanks are often quoted as setting the tone; statements by Chinese politicians are “usually neutralised with those of German stakeholders”. Accordingly, only exposed opponents of Chinese government policy have their say from Chinese “civil society”.
For example, “three Hong Kong activists” – and apart from them above all Chris Patten, the last governor of the British colony of Hong Kong – functioned as “opinion makers with regard to Hong Kong”. “Dominant" consideration is given to staff from four think tanks, including the German Marshall Fund of the United States (GMF) and the Mercator Institute for China Studies (MERICS). The GMF is one of the most influential transatlantic think tanks. MERICS' board of trustees includes Sebastian Groth, head of the planning staff at the Federal Foreign Office, and Thomas Bagger, head of foreign policy at the Office of the Federal President. Bagger most recently accompanied the work of a group of experts who recently presented a strategy paper for a more aggressive, risk-taking German foreign policy. The project was funded by the Mercator Foundation.3
The attitude of the elites
Regarding the consequences of the one-sided, cliché-laden German reporting on China, which is partly characterised by colonial stereotypes, the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation predicts: “The further media construction and deepening of the enemy image of China with [...] one-dimensional and Eurocentric facets will reinforce the sceptical- adverse attitude towards China that can already be observed, especially among the intellectual and political elite [...].”
Source: https://www.german-foreign-policy.com/news/detail/8741/
(Translation “Swiss Standpoint”)
1 Carola Richter, Sebastian Gebauer: Die China-Berichterstattung in den deutschen Medien. With contributions by Thomas Heberer and Kai Hafez. Published by the Heinrich Böll Foundation. Berlin 2010.
2 Jia Changbao, Mechthild Leutner, Xiao Minxing: China Berichterstattung in deutschen Medien im Kontext der Corona-Krise (China coverage in German media in the context of the Corona crisis). Rosa Luxemburg Foundation Studies 12/2021. Berlin 2021.
3 See “Handlungsempfehlungen an die nächste Bundesregierung (I)” and “Handlungsempfehlungen an die nächste Bundesregierung (II)”