Hu Xijin

Hu Xijin (Chinese: 胡锡进; born 7 April 1960) is a Chinese journalist who previously served as editor-in-chief and Chinese Communist Party Committee Secretary of Global Times from 2005 to 2021.

In this Chinese name, the family name is Hu.
Hu Xijin
胡锡进
Hu in 2021
Editor-in-chief and CCP committee secretary of Global Times
In office
2005–2021
Editor-in-chiefHimself
Preceded byTitle established
Succeeded byFan Zhengwei (Party Secretary)
Wu Yimin (Editor-in-chief)
Personal details
Born (1960-04-08) April 8, 1960
Beijing, China
Political partyChinese Communist Party
Children1
Alma mater
OccupationEditor, Journalist
Chinese name
Simplified Chinese胡锡进
Traditional Chinese胡錫進
Movements in contemporary
Chinese political thought
Liberalism
New Conservatism
New Confucianism
New Left

Hu has been accused by the western media of being a political propagandist[1][2][3][4] and an early adopter of China's "wolf warrior" communication strategy of loudly denouncing perceived criticism of the Chinese government and its policies.[5]

Early life and education

Hu was born in Beijing to a poor Christian family.[6]

From 1978 to 1982, Hu attended the People's Liberation Army College of International Relations in Nanjing, Jiangsu for undergraduate studies. After graduating with a master's degree in Russian literature from Beijing Foreign Studies University in 1989, Hu began his career as a journalist at the People's Daily. Hu took part in the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests but later in 2019 called the military action a tragedy caused by "student naivety" and government inexperience.[7][2]

Career

Working as a foreign correspondent for the paper, he covered both the Bosnian War and the Iraq War. After covering Yugoslavia's break-up as a war correspondent, he came to admire strong Communist rule.[7]

Hu became editor of the Global Times in 2005, editing both the Chinese-language version and, after its establishment in 2009, the English-language version.[8] During Hu's time as editor of the Global Times, he has become known as a bellicose hard-liner.[9] “Frisbee Hu,” a nickname for Hu Xijin, arose from a joke that he retrieves whatever the government throws at him.[10][11]

Amid the 2020–2021 China–India skirmishes, Indian news site ThePrint called Hu Xijin "the Arnab Goswami of China" and said that both of them are also "mirror opposites" because "neither acknowledges the truth on the ground because it doesn’t suit their journalism".[12]

Hu stepped down as editor-in-chief of the Global Times in December 2021.[13][14] His departure, reportedly due to Beijing "strengthening the paper’s political guidance", was (according to The Diplomat) connected to efforts of toning down overly confrontational "wolf warrior" rhetoric, following a deterioration of China's international reputation and CCP general secretary Xi Jinping calling for improvements in the country's international communication at a May 2021 CCP Politburo session.[5] Following his career with the Global Times, Hu remains an active political commentator on Sina Weibo and has occasionally been censored.[15]

Accusations of "astroturfing"

According to Richard Burger, a former editor at the Global Times, in the wake of the arrest of Ai Weiwei, the Chinese staff of the Global Times were ordered[16] by Hu to conduct an "astroturfing" campaign against Ai Weiwei in favor of the Chinese government's criticism of Ai as a "maverick".[17]

Commentary surrounding 2019–20 Hong Kong protests

During the 2019–2020 Hong Kong protests, Hu urged for direct shooting towards the protesters. He also advocated that the police should be waived from any responsibilities even if the protesters were fatally shot.[18] Hu warned that China would bar drafters of the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act, whose U.S. Senate sponsor is Florida Republican Marco Rubio, from entering mainland China as well as Hong Kong and Macau after U.S. President Trump signed it into law in November 2019.[19] Hu compared the protesters to "ISIS-like terrorists",[20] and accused the U.S. of instigating the protests.[21]

Urging China to increase nuclear weapons
See also: China and weapons of mass destruction

On 9 May 2020, Hu published an opinion piece urging the Chinese government to build more nuclear weapons, including 100 DF-41 intercontinental ballistic missiles.[22]

Taiwan
See also: 2022 visit by Nancy Pelosi to Taiwan

Hu has supported an increase in hostility with Taiwan. Notably in 2020 he suggested that Chinese fighter jets should enter into Taiwan's claimed airspace and if shot down, consider it to be a declaration of war.[23] In October 2021, he said, "The people of Taiwan will not follow the DPP and 'fight to the end.'"[24]

In December 2021, Hu described Wang Leehom as "American Taiwanese", rather than Chinese, making a distinction between Taiwanese and Chinese.[25]

In July 2022, Hu warned of military retaliation if Nancy Pelosi visited Taiwan, stating "I've conveyed the message: if the U.S. military sends fighter jets to escort Pelosi to Taiwan, then the move would take the vile nature of such a visit to another level, and would constitute aggression. Our fighter jets should deploy all obstructive tactics. If those are still ineffective, I think it is okay too to shoot down Pelosi's plane."[26]

Personal life

In October 2020, Apple Daily reported that Hu's son had emigrated to Canada, and that he was mocked for it by fellow news reporters; Hu denied that any of his children live abroad.[27] Additionally, it was reported that Hu makes a salary of 570,000 yuan per year at his job at the Global Times, and an additional 12,000,000 yuan per year on digital platforms such as TikTok and Toutiao.[27] Finally, it was also reported that Hu owns a luxury apartment worth 25,000,000 yuan.[27]

In December 2020, South China Morning Post and Apple Daily reported that a former deputy editor at the Global Times submitted a complaint with the CCP's Central Commission for Discipline Inspection, alleging that Hu fathered two children with former colleagues. Hu denied the allegation and labeled it a blackmail attempt.[28][29]

References
  1. Teixeira, Lauren. "Beijing's Propaganda Is Playing the Trade War Safe". Foreign Policy. Archived from the original on 2019-06-18. Retrieved 2019-08-28.
  2. Jiang, Steven (August 16, 2019). "The man taking on Hong Kong from deep inside China's propaganda machine". CNN. Archived from the original on December 2, 2019. Retrieved 2020-05-09.
  3. Hernández, Javier C. (2019-07-31). "When Trump Tweets, the Editor of 'China's Fox News' Hits Back". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 2020-08-01. Retrieved 2020-08-23.
  4. Hong, Brendon (2020-06-12). "This Tiananmen Protester Is Now Beijing's Troll-in-Chief". The Daily Beast. Archived from the original on 2020-08-23. Retrieved 2020-08-23.
  5. Powers-Riggs, Aidan; Jaramillo, Eduardo (2022-01-22). "Is China Putting 'Wolf Warriors' on a Leash?". The Diplomat. Retrieved 2022-02-06.
  6. Zhang, Han (2021-12-14). "China's troll king: how a tabloid editor became the voice of Chinese nationalism". The Guardian. Retrieved 2021-12-19.
  7. "China's Global Times plays a peculiar role". The Economist. ISSN 0013-0613. Archived from the original on 2020-04-27. Retrieved 2020-05-09.
  8. HUANG, CHENGJU (2016). "Conservative Popular Journalism, Public Diplomacy and the Search for an Alternative Chinese Modernity: Revisiting the Global Times". In Gao, Jia; Ingram, Catherine; Kee, Pookong (eds.). Global Media and Public Diplomacy in Sino-Western Relations. doi:10.4324/9781315584904. ISBN 9781315584904.
  9. Garnaut, John (18 December 2010). "A cocktail of conspiracies delivered daily". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 24 December 2010. Retrieved 2013-02-06.
  10. Henochowicz, Anne (6 February 2014). "Eluding the "Ministry of Truth"". Nieman Reports. Archived from the original on 12 March 2015. Retrieved 30 January 2015.
  11. Alex, Colville (October 12, 2020). "Hu Xijin, China's greatest internet troll". SupChina. Archived from the original on October 14, 2020. Retrieved October 14, 2020.
  12. Malhotra, Jyoti (2020-06-09). "Chinese media is the superspreader of disinformation: From Covid to Ladakh". ThePrint. Archived from the original on 2020-10-02. Retrieved 2020-09-17.
  13. "Outspoken editor of Chinese state tabloid Global Times retires". The Guardian. 2021-12-16. Retrieved 2021-12-17.
  14. Mozur, Paul; Liu, John (2021-12-16). "Hu Xijin, Head of 'China's Fox News,' Says He'll Retire". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2023-10-07.
  15. "Wang Fang's performance in Ukraine highlights divisions in China". The Economist. ISSN 0013-0613. Retrieved 2023-09-15. The war in Ukraine is "not China's war", said Mr Hu, who is a former editor-in-chief of Global Times, a nationalist tabloid in Beijing. For good measure, censors deleted Mr Hu's post too.
  16. "zh:外籍傳媒人踢爆 總編命搜尋評論按中共路線批駁 《環球時報》抹黑艾未未內幕" [Foreign media insider exposes Global Times' managing editor's smearing of Ai Weiwei]. Apple Daily (in Chinese). Hong Kong. April 16, 2011. Archived from the original on August 23, 2020. Retrieved August 23, 2020.
  17. "Foreign Media Insider Exposes Global Times's Smearing Of Ai Weiwei". YouTube. Apple Daily. Archived from the original on 2014-10-09. Retrieved 2011-04-16.
  18. 《環時》總編冷血諫言：港警應獲授權射實彈 擊斃示威者不用負責｜蘋果新聞網｜蘋果日報. Apple Daily (in Chinese (Taiwan)). Archived from the original on 2020-08-23. Retrieved 2019-11-18.
  19. Pang, Jessie; Cadell, Cate (November 28, 2019). "China warns U.S. over Hong Kong law as thousands stage 'Thanksgiving' rally". Reuters. Archived from the original on August 23, 2020. Retrieved May 9, 2020.
  20. "Here's what China is telling its people about Hong Kong protests - BNN Bloomberg". 2019-11-13. Archived from the original on 2019-12-17. Retrieved 2020-05-09.
  21. Jiang, Steven (16 August 2019). "The man taking on Hong Kong from deep inside China's propaganda machine". CNN. Archived from the original on 2 December 2019. Retrieved 9 May 2020.
  22. Tian, Yew Lun (2020-05-08). "China needs more nuclear warheads: Global Times editor". Reuters. Archived from the original on 2020-06-15. Retrieved 2020-10-14.
  23. "China says 'fighter jets of the PLA must fly over the island of Taiwan'". Taiwan News. 28 October 2020. Retrieved 28 October 2020.
  24. "Chinese Journalist Hu Xijin: Although Taiwan Tensions Are At All-Time High, War Is Not Inevitable – Taiwan's Authorities Will Eventually Back Down; China Is Defending Its Sovereignty, Territorial Integrity". MEMRI. Retrieved 2023-05-11.
  25. "Wang Leehom's divorce spat unites netizens from mainland China and Taiwan". South China Morning Post. 2021-12-19. Retrieved 2021-12-19.
  26. "Chinese nationalist commentator deletes Pelosi tweet after Twitter blocks account". Reuters. 2022-07-30. Retrieved 2022-07-31.
  27. "Editor of Beijing's mouthpiece denies moving family to Canada". Apple Daily 蘋果日報 (in Chinese (Hong Kong)). Archived from the original on 2020-10-09. Retrieved 2020-10-08.
  28. Zheng, William (December 3, 2020). "Editor of nationalistic Chinese newspaper says he was a target of blackmail and rumours by deputy". South China Morning Post. Retrieved August 30, 2021.
  29. "Global Times chief editor denies fathering 2 sons with colleagues". Apple Daily. December 2, 2020. Archived from the original on June 17, 2021.
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