Media coverage of migration issues in the context of Chinese ideology

Chzhao QINGSONG PhD in Politics postgraduate student; faculty of journalism 190000, Russia, Saint Petersburg, Nakhimov str., 3k2, sq. 102 qingsongzhao666@gmail.com Other publications by this author

Introduction

Over the past decades, the coverage of migration issues has been an important topic in the Chinese media. Migration is an important aspect of both China's domestic and foreign policy. The beginning of the 21st century was characterized by the third wave of migration in China. This migration, characteristic of the era of globalization, had various reasons (economic, political, family, etc.), but one way or another, China is currently the fourth country in the world in terms of the number of migrants living abroad. On the other hand, as China developed, it also faced a certain degree of personnel shortage, and by the 2020s, the state also made the first attempts to create programs to attract foreign talent to work and study in China. Thus, now topics such as emigration from China and immigration to China occupy a significant part of Chinese media materials. Understanding how Chinese media present migration issues helps to analyze how the state uses the media to implement its policies, including migration legislation, national security issues and the social integration of migrants.

At the same time, ideology is an important component of the Chinese state regime and plays an important role in the functioning of Chinese society. Chinese media play an important role in shaping and directing public opinion. The coverage of migration issues within the framework of Chinese ideology allows the state to control the discourse and form a patriotic, nationalist or socialist perception of migration among the population.

An analysis of how Chinese ideology influences media coverage of migration issues provides a unique opportunity to compare with the approaches of other countries. It allows us to identify the features of Chinese media policy and its differences from international standards.

The purpose of this study is to identify the influence of Chinese ideology on media coverage of migration issues. The object of the study is the materials of the Chinese media on migration issues in the last 20 years (2004-2024). The subject of the study is the ideological aspect of the coverage of migration issues in the Chinese media. The methodology of this study included content analysis of Chinese news media texts, analysis of Chinese documents on migration issues, media policy issues and ideology issues. General scientific methods such as analysis, synthesis, induction and deduction were also used.

Questions of Chinese ideology

The development of human civilization is accompanied by changes in social ideology. Being an important part of the philosophical system, ideology reflects the basic concepts of society and represents a common understanding of what is happening. Marxist philosophy emphasizes that the formation and disappearance of ideologies are mainly accompanied by a change of epochs. As Marxism became Sinicized, the ideology of socialism with Chinese characteristics gradually took shape in China, and as an important part of the social system and social relations, it provided systematic support in building socialism with Chinese characteristics. Focusing on the specific process of Sinification of Marxism, as well as combining the ideas of Mao Zedong, the theory of Deng Xiaoping, the important ideas of the "Triple Representation" of Jiang Jiamen, a scientific view of the development of socialist thought with the Chinese characteristics of Xi Jinping in the new era, we can say that Chinese ideology, based on the ideas of Marxism-Leninism, is a unique philosophicalA political phenomenon that has an important impact on all spheres of life in the country, including the media.

The main features of Chinese ideology include complete subordination to the leadership of the CPC, support for Marxism and collectivization. Let's look at these aspects in more detail.

China has a long history of five thousand years. A new stage in the development of China as a state began in the second half of the twentieth century, when the Communist Party of China took over the country. During this period, in order to ensure the stable socio-economic development of China and maintain proper public order throughout the country, an ideological understanding of absolute subordination to the leadership of the party was formed. According to Chinese ideology, the people absolutely trust the party, resolutely obey its leadership and carry out its decisions. With absolute subordination to the leadership of the party, it can resolve long-standing socio-ideological disputes and play an extremely important role in stabilizing the social environment.

The formation of Chinese ideology is connected with the integration of ancient Chinese culture into the ideology of Marxism. With the Sinification of Marxism and under the leadership of the Chinese Communist Party, the life of the Chinese people has improved significantly in historical perspective and economic dimension. Thus, the majority in the country agrees that the main positions of Marxism in the ideology of the country should be strengthened. Over the past almost 100 years, Marxist thought has set the direction for achieving China's national independence, national liberation and socialist construction. The key point is the deep integration of Marxist scientific theory and Chinese socialist practice, which emphasizes the leading position of Marxism in building socialism with Chinese specifics. Thus, the ideology of the country after the founding of the New China demonstrated a firm commitment to Marxism. ^[1] After the 18th CPC Congress (2012), the Chinese Communist Party took Marxist thought as a basis and linked the growing needs of people for a better life with low productivity and unbalanced distribution mechanisms, which further defined people-oriented development ideas and strengthened cohesion. The 20th Congress of the CPC (2022) fully proved the role of Marxism in building socialism with Chinese characteristics. Over the past ten years, the situation at home and abroad has undergone significant changes, and the Chinese nation has achieved significant renewal. Therefore, adherence to Marxism as an important part of social policy continues to be the most important feature of Chinese ideology.

Social ideology is a manifestation of social relations. From the point of view of national development, the political system is not an absolute factor of influence. Such factors can be considered the strengthening of national cohesion through the unification of social ideology, the key to which was the desire to balance the relationship between individual and collective interests. The choice between individual and collective interests within the framework of social ideology determines the stability of the social environment. Collective interests are above all and are a symbol of the integrity of the country and the nation. Therefore, when there is a contradiction between personal and collective interests, ideology dictates the primacy of collective interests. Thus, the ideology formed by socialism with Chinese characteristics has a high social value, which is mainly manifested in the stability of public order, and also contributes to the unhindered implementation of important government decisions and the reduction of unnecessary resistance. This is also a prerequisite for China's rapid economic development.

In China, all spheres of society are subordinated to the state ideology, including the media sphere. Thus, in 2017, the State Administration for Press, Publishing, Radio, Film and Television published ideological guidelines for new media. The main task of the media, according to this document, is to adhere to the orientation of public opinion agreed by the state, actively cover the general situation in the party and the country, promote national ideology, spread "positive energy" and create a favorable atmosphere in society. This document calls for combating vulgarity and clickbait in the media ("obscenity, propaganda of gambling, violence and other texts, audio and video materials and photographs that threaten public morality and violate national laws and regulations should not be published"^[2]), to resist the dissemination of all kinds of harmful and false information ("searching for truth based on facts"), subject texts to repeated checks for authenticity and originality, use literary language, do not use flashy clickbait headlines, avoid distorting facts, strengthen the management of network activities in accordance with national legislation, strengthen supervision and management, and prohibit outsourcing, leasing or transfer of news gathering and editing businesses websites and web channels. The document also proposes to continue the implementation of a system of ideological responsibility for texts and other media materials, clarify the subject of responsibility of authors, distribute managerial responsibilities in all aspects of procurement, collection and distribution of information, as well as create and improve an accountability system. Serious investigations should be conducted against those who publish news reports in violation of the law and regulations regarding the responsibilities of writing reporters, responsible editors, department directors, duty editors-in-chief and other related personnel in accordance with the law and regulations.

An important element of Chinese ideological policy in the field of mass media is the concept of "Three reviews and three proofreading". This is a traditional system in the field of publishing. In particular, it includes preliminary review (preliminary review of the content, structure and logic of the text), review (in-depth analysis of the content, style and format of texts that have passed preliminary review), final review (final quality control and risk assessment of the text), initial proofreading (proofreading of the language and format of the text), re-checking (in-depth proofreading grammar, style and format of texts that have passed preliminary verification), final proofreading (final verification for accuracy and completeness). Thanks to repeated viewing and proofreading, the accuracy, consistency and objectivity of the content is ensured. Proofreading multiple links significantly reduces the number of errors caused by omissions or inaccuracies. Also, checking using this system increases readers' confidence in the texts. Thus, the texts of the Chinese media must be subjected to multiple checks, which include, among other things, multiple self-censorship.

Analysis of media materials

Within the framework of this study, 40 texts of Chinese media dealing with migration issues were analyzed in the time range from 2004 to 2024. Since the formation of the New China, Chinese media have published various reports on immigration issues. Previously, media materials were limited to publishing dry facts, but today the coverage of migration issues in the Chinese media is no longer limited to numbers, but gradually study the impact of migration problems on society and their solution by expanding media coverage and introducing innovative methods of media coverage.^[3] Thanks to a variety of media platforms, current immigration issues are timely and they are accurately covered in all spheres of life.^[4]

According to the results of the study, these texts can be divided into the following main thematic areas: emigration from China (30%), outflow of talent (17%), immigration to China (17%), illegal immigration (27%), emigration of elites (9%).

The coverage of immigration issues by the Chinese media reflects the country's attitude towards them. Therefore, an analysis of the topics and the nature of their coverage can point to the most pressing problems for Chinese society. As we can see from the above quantitative analysis, the most common topics are emigration from China and illegal migration. immigration (both from China and to China). Articles on Chinese emigration discuss the causes of immigration from China, the difficulties of integration as Chinese abroad, the recitarization of Chinese immigrants abroad, including their return to their homeland. An important trend here is the humanization of emigrants from China. At least several articles contain interviews with real migrants, where specific cases are described, revealing both the reasons for emigration and the difficulties in integrating into the society of a new country of residence. This attitude may be related to the national ideology of greater China, in which all Chinese living abroad, even those who have lost their Chinese citizenship, remain part of the Chinese nation and an object of state interest. Despite the possible negative consequences of such emigration, for example, the outflow of capital and talent, this situation is not considered as a problem for Chinese society, but rather as its feature. The concept of greater China is especially evident in the materials on migration to Taiwan. These articles use rhetoric describing the situation as "The atmosphere of one family on both sides of the Strait" ^[5].

It is worth noting that the tendency to show Chinese emigrants not as "traitors to the motherland", but rather as "prodigal sons" is also expressed in reflecting the reasons for Chinese emigration. None of the articles listed political reasons as reasons for moving from China. The main reasons indicated are economic (work, cost of living), social (security and social security), educational and family, but not political. This also allows, firstly, to avoid indirect criticism of the CCP's policies, and, secondly, it allows not to alienate Chinese emigrants from Chinese society. Thus, the entire migrated population continues to be considered as part of the Chinese nation within the framework of national ideology. Currently, the policy towards foreign Chinese is carried out under the slogan "to consolidate hearts, unite minds, and develop opportunities for the revival of the great Chinese nation"^[6]. "Beijing is actively pursuing patriotic education of the younger generation of foreign Chinese. In order to develop kinship feelings towards China among the children of foreign Chinese, especially those born abroad, the Chinese government regularly organizes special tourist trips under the slogan "Familiarization with Chinese roots." ^[7] In addition, by developing the Chinese diaspora abroad, China also seeks to form a Chinese lobby, which will ensure that a policy favorable to China. This aspect of politics and ideology is fully reflected in the media materials on migration, as they create a united Chinese nation on both sides of the ocean.

Another direction of texts related to the trend of talent outflow from the country cannot but worry Chinese society. However, within the framework of the policy of spreading favorable information, this topic, although often raised in the media, is covered very carefully. For example, it is noted that "There is no so-called "large-scale outflow of talent" <..The scale and pace of migration of our country's population is small, and the international exchange of personnel has yet to be strengthened rather than limited. <...> The data also show that 70% of international students in our country have returned home for its development."^[8]. As can be seen from this text, media materials are aimed at reducing the degree of public concern about the problem of staff outflow. Within the framework of the state ideology, the media should not question the state policy, which currently does not counteract Chinese emigration. A massive outflow of the population would also indicate problems in Chinese society, which would also contradict the state ideology of the "Chinese Dream" ("The Chinese Dream of the Rebirth of a great Nation", the current slogan of the PRC and the socio-political course). Moreover, the media should also not create excessive public excitement and put public safety at risk.

Here we can cite the example of the scandal of 2013, when information was leaked to the media that 9.3 million people emigrated from the country in 2013. This information, later disseminated by the Chinese media, contained a distortion of facts, accidental or intentional: in fact, 9.3 million people are the total number of migrants of Chinese origin in the world by 2013, and not just for 2013. Subsequently, a large number of media outlets began to refute these materials, and significant resources were spent on stabilizing the Chinese society that showed tension and concern about this issue. In particular, due to this scandal, after 2013, increased attention was paid to media materials on migration issues in terms of verifying the authenticity and proofreading of materials.

Thus, media coverage of the problem of the outflow of talented personnel usually boils down to "extinguishing" public concern about this issue. The media adheres to the dissemination of news favorable to society and does not resort to hot topics, controversial statistics, alarmist rhetoric and flashy headlines.

A similar, more popular, but periodically occurring topic in the media is the problem of capital outflow abroad. The rhetoric is more expressive here. While the outflow of personnel may in the future play into the hands of the Chinese government and Chinese society (for example, through the creation of a Chinese lobby), the outflow of capital can no longer serve the favorable development of the country. Therefore, a number of media outlets point out that "people who have become rich primarily due to the reforms and policies of the party, as well as those associated with state capital, should not immigrate as soon as they make a profit. The Government should place restrictions on them and the outflow of wealth, as well as encourage them to fulfill their responsibilities to promote the general prosperity of society."^[9] As can be seen from this statement, it is completely subordinated to Chinese ideology in matters of the predominance of collective, public interests over individual ones. Although the attitude about elite migration in the Chinese media varies, the concept of the predominance of public interests over individual interests occupies a key position in the texts. For example, in an article that justifies the emigration of economic elites, it is noted: "despite the fact that many businessmen have already immigrated, they still work hard in the country and do not actually leave China permanently. Many people are even actively involved in charity work."^[10] Thus, an important aspect here is the fact that a citizen participates in the life of the country. As part of the coverage of migration issues in China, the motive of the collective good is often used, towering over the individual good. This is the most important feature of modern Chinese ideology, which originates from Marxism.

Another important topic covered in Chinese news is the problem of illegal migration. Here, China's position is unequivocally negative, both on issues of illegal migration to and from China. Much attention is devoted to the fight against the mafia organization "snake heads", which is engaged in the illegal movement of people across the border. All articles emphasize the rule of law and the obligation of all Chinese residents to follow it. Speaking about the ideology of combating illegal migration, "collectivization, internationalization and intelligence activities" are noted ^[11] (search for reliable information). There is also a lot of emphasis on the opinion of the party leadership, which emphasizes the supremacy of the CPC government. For example, quotes from party officials are often found in articles, and the quote "The Chinese government adheres to the principle of openness to the outside world, guarantees and encourages normal exchanges between Chinese and foreign personnel in accordance with the law, protects the legitimate rights and interests of incoming and outgoing personnel, resolutely opposes smuggling and fights illegal and criminal activities organized with the purpose of smuggling, and smuggling in accordance with Chinese law. The National Immigration Administration will continue to carry out practical cooperation between law enforcement agencies and relevant national competent authorities on the basis of equality and mutual respect and jointly maintain the normal order of movement of international personnel and expand exchanges" ^[11] and completely wanders from article to article in an almost unchanged form many times. Also, most of the texts are occupied by quotations from Xi Jinping concerning the future management of security in the country, including issues of illegal migration. All this indicates that when covering such an important topic as migration, the media try to adhere to the official position of the party and convey it to readers. This is also part of the strategy of influencing the country's ideology on media materials.

The last topic, which is often found in the materials of news publications, is the immigration of foreigners to China. Recently, China has been extremely concerned about attracting talent from abroad. It is noted that "In recent years, the Chinese government has made efforts to adjust its immigration management policy in order to facilitate the normal influx of people." However, two points are repeatedly emphasized, namely, that exceptionally rare talents necessary for the development of China are attracted, and that we are talking exclusively about legal immigration. A large number of materials emphasize that it is primarily about highly qualified specialists. For example, it is proposed to grant the right to permanent residence to "laureates of famous awards, professors and researchers from world-famous universities and research institutes, senior management and technical staff of world-famous enterprises and financial institutions, as well as foreigners who have made significant and outstanding contributions to the economic and research development of China." Thus, despite the declared "openness", China remains a country that is quite closed to foreign immigration, which can be linked to the ideology of Chinese nationalism. As D.V. Kuznetsov notes, "it is quite obvious that recently there has been an increase in nationalism in China, and the ideas of Chinese nationalism have become most widespread among representatives of the younger generation of Chinese citizens. In part, these processes are controlled by the Chinese authorities, who are largely interested in ensuring that the country's residents have certain ideological guidelines and adhere to them in their views" ^[12]. Thus, in modern China, nationalism forms an important part of modern ideology based on the ideas of Chinese centrality. Here you can pay attention to the ideological concept of the "Chinese dream", the essence of which is the revival of the Chinese nation. Within the framework of this concept, both the return of the descendants of Chinese migrants to their homeland and the involvement of highly qualified foreign specialists are seen as a mechanism for strengthening and developing China's political and economic forces.

Thus, as is obvious from the analysis of the selected texts, Chinese media materials related to migration issues are deeply ideologized and reflect the main interests of the government. The coverage of immigration issues in accordance with Chinese ideology is aimed at shaping the image of migration as a phenomenon that serves the economic development of the country. When covering immigration issues in the media, there is a strong tendency to emphasize that collective interests are above all. The mass media in China control the situation with public opinion on migration issues, ensuring that public opinion remains unchanged ^[13]. Based on the influence of the media on public opinion, when covering immigration issues, contradictions in the ideological sphere are minimized, which is ensured by numerous and repeated systems of verification and self-censorship of texts.

Conclusions and recommendations

Ideology leaves its mark on what and how the Chinese media write about migration. In general, speaking about the ideological aspect of the coverage of immigration issues in the Chinese media, it can be noted that it combines both classical Marxist Chinese ideology and its modern interpretations. As noted above, the main features of classical Chinese ideology include the supremacy of the CCP, Marxism and the predominance of common interests over private ones. In addition, the concept of the "Chinese Dream", introduced by Xi Jinping, should be highlighted separately.

The framework of the "Chinese Dream" includes the dream of the rebirth of the nation, a kind of rethinking of Chinese nationalism. Migration is a very sensitive topic in the context of the ideology of the "Chinese Dream". Within the framework of migration issues, nationalism plays an important role in shaping media discourse. Within the framework of media materials, it is necessary to create an attractive image of China, while not "demonizing" migrants. For this reason, articles on migration emphasize that migration contributes to the economic development of the country and does not negatively affect it. In addition, the media continues to view emigrated Chinese as part of the Chinese nation, which is extremely important within the framework of the new Chinese nationalism of the "Chinese Dream".

Within the framework of Chinese ideology, it is necessary to show migration (both to and from the country) as a common good, minimally focusing on the problems that cause it. Therefore, it can be concluded that such an ideological aspect as the desire for collectivization and the common good is most vividly revealed. It is repeatedly emphasized how migration can benefit the development of the country, and only those migrants who either do it illegally or withdraw significant funds abroad are condemned.

The aspect of the supremacy of party power is manifested not so much in the content of texts as in the approach to their writing and editing. When writing articles, journalists firmly follow the instructions of the party in matters of text editing and often self-censor them. According to the party's imperative, the media should direct and shape public opinion, and do so strictly within the framework of Marxist ideology and in a unified manner. To do this, numerous checks are carried out, they became especially attentive in the field of migration materials after the scandal of 2013, when unreliable data on the number of Chinese who emigrated from the country leaked to the media, which significantly stirred up public opinion and caused its indignation. Such instability of public opinion could damage the credibility of the CPC, and therefore the checks were significantly tightened and similar situations did not happen again.

In general, now we can identify several areas of media work that journalists need to pay attention to when publishing materials about migration. Firstly, with the growing popularity of self-media (new media distributed on social media platforms) and the increasing complexity of migration problems under the influence of multiculturalism, the mechanism for verifying media reports on immigration based on Chinese ideology needs to be significantly optimized. Thus, it is necessary to implement mechanisms for multiple verification and dynamic verification. In the context of Chinese ideology, media reports on immigration issues must undergo multi-level verification. Firstly, the editorial staff should independently verify the content; secondly, the media should not only review the editorial content, but also review related reports and other media; finally, competent news agencies should consider the ideological background of migration reports, determining whether these messages can be published in the media.

In the context of Chinese ideology, the influence of media reports on migration issues on public opinion is constant. Consequently, in order to stabilize public order and ensure that migration communications serve social development, the dynamic verification mechanism must also be improved based on compliance with numerous verification mechanisms. The so-called dynamic analysis implies the fact that the relevant institutions and staff must take into account the public opinion generated by the relevant migration reports as a guideline in the process of ideological verification of immigration materials.

Secondly, it is necessary to strengthen control over the so-called self-media, forcing bloggers to check their texts for ideological conformity in the same way as professional journalists do. Immigration issues are an important part of social problems. Selfie media creators can reflect on immigration-related issues, but platforms need to strengthen control over relevant content, especially when it comes to ideological aspects. Selfie media platforms should implement third-party surveillance services and determine if there are violations in the coverage of immigration issues based on audience comments.

Thirdly, modern technologies must be used to control the ideological content of media in the context of migration messages. Given this situation, the media covering migration issues should use an intelligent control method, that is, use big data platforms to control public opinion, and create a model of public opinion in the media to cover migration issues. When public opinion differs significantly from expectations, the government should use an intelligent method of control. Big data platforms will give an early warning and point out the ideologically incorrect orientation of texts, which may cause outrage in public opinion, as well as suggest possible coping strategies. It is worth noting that although the intelligent surveillance method based on big data and artificial intelligence technologies has improved the quality of monitoring media reports on migration issues, the results of monitoring still need to be determined manually, given the complexity and secrecy of Chinese ideology ^[14]. With the increase in the media database on migration, as well as with the improvement of public opinion and ideological control algorithms, intelligent control methods will gradually replace traditional manual control, which is also an inevitable result of media coverage of immigration in the context of Chinese ideology.

These areas of change will improve the mechanism for monitoring media materials on migration issues and allow the media to more effectively influence public opinion within the framework of Chinese ideology. This will make it possible to further promote aspects such as the power of the CCP, Marxism, collectivism, Chinese nationalism and the "Chinese Dream" in media materials, providing readers with reliable and ideologically verified information about migration processes in the country, thereby regulating a sensitive topic for the country, allowing to avoid unplanned shifts in public opinion.