China wants foreign media to stop “biased” reporting about the ongoing Hong Kong protests, claiming  that they have an important role to play in guiding “misled” public opinion on the city.

Claims foreign intervention in Hong Kong

On Aug. 20, the Chinese foreign ministry sent out a 41-page letter to international news outlets in an attempt to sway global opinion about the situation in Hong Kong.

The letter was sent to senior editors at more than 30  international news outlets based in Beijing, including Bloomberg, Reuters, and Agence France-Presse.

The letter was signed by Hua Chunying, who is the newly promoted head of China's foreign ministry's information department.

It contained news clippings that supported the Chinese government's position on Hong Kong affairs, as well as alleged evidence of foreign intervention in the situation, according to South China Morning Post.

"I hope that you and the media agency you lead will take up your due social responsibility and make reports that are neutral, objective, impartial and comprehensive, so that your coverage may help those protesters ignorant of the truth to get back to the right path, and help those who have been seriously misled to come to a rational fair judgement," the letter said.

The letter also contained evidence of supposed foreign interference in Hong Kong, citing reports from prominent Chinese state media outlets such as CGTN, China Daily and Global Times.

They claim that protesters were funded by Western governments, pointing fingers at organisations such as the Central Intelligence Agency.

China powerless to control global sentiments

While China has traditionally held strict control over domestic media, it has found itself powerless in controlling global sentiments, which were largely sympathetic towards the protesters in Hong Kong.

Foreign media often focused on the actions of Hong Kong police, rather than the acts of violence from protesters.

In addition, its own state media is largely distrusted by the world, and is incapable of swaying opinion towards China.

Recently, its efforts to branch out its propaganda efforts into social media has failed, after Facebook and Twitter announced action to halt China's "state-backed" disinformation campaign in Hong Kong.

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Top image from HKFP.