TORONTO—Two decades ago, the ruling communist party in China began to quietly exert a powerful influence over Chinese-language media abroad, including here in North America.
It began in earnest during the lead up to the British handover of Hong Kong to Chinese rule in 1997. Thousands had left the bustling island city for Canada and other countries, seeking the surety of freedom they’d grown accustomed to under the British. At the same time, a wave of Chinese immigrants began to go abroad, and Beijing saw the risk posed when large numbers of overseas Chinese with connections to the mainland became exposed to press that might be less kind to the communist regime.
This made Hong Kong-based Chinese newspapers like Ming Pao and Sing Tao targets for influence, explained Mei Duzhe in a 2001 report by the Washington, D.C.-based Jamestown Foundation titled “How China’s Government Is Attempting to Control Chinese Media in America.”
A combination of political and financial favours had won over the largest newspapers and shifted their coverage in a distinctly pro-Beijing direction, Mei said. By 2001, the influence was pervasive, and Chinese newspapers abroad regularly parroted the communist party line on sensitive issues like democracy, Tibet, and the regime itself.
“The dominant Chinese media vehicle in America is the newspaper,” Mei wrote. “Four major Chinese newspapers are found in the U.S.—World Journal, Sing Tao Daily, Ming Pao Daily News, and The China Press.” (The first three are also distributed in Canada.)
“Of these four, three are either directly or indirectly controlled by the government of Mainland China, while the fourth (run out of Taiwan) has recently begun bowing to pressure from the Beijing government.”
It was in this environment of narrowing viewpoints that The Epoch Times came into being, first as a Chinese-language newspaper in the U.S., and then Canada. Founded by Chinese-Americans with a commitment to reporting important stories censored by the official and pro-Beijing press, the newspaper’s impact was quickly felt.
In 2003, when the outbreak of the SARS virus began in China, The Epoch Times was first to break the story. It then stood alone as other Chinese newspapers repeated the regime’s official denials, even as the disease continued to spread. In the end, SARS infected people in 37 countries and killed 43 in Toronto.
By 2004, the Chinese Epoch Times had grown and was available on several continents, and nearly coast to coast in Canada. From there, the newspaper began to offer editions in other languages. The English edition in Canada you are reading now began in December 2004. A French Canadian edition was launched the following year.
Worldwide, The Epoch Times publishes in 12 languages in print (an additional five online) and in 33 countries. In the past year, our reporters around the globe have covered the riots in Greece, mudslides in Brazil, protests in Thailand, economic collapse in Ireland, and currently the earthquake in Japan. In Canada, we reported from Canada Hockey Place when Sidney Crosby scored his iconic gold-medal goal in overtime, and from inside the G20 in Toronto during last year’s high-profile summit.
Still, coverage of China remains a defining quality of the newspaper.
As crowds of Chinese were preparing to gather on Parliament Hill in Ottawa in June 2010 to cheer on visiting Chinese leader Hu Jintao, The Epoch Times obtained a recording taken inside the Chinese embassy that showed a high-ranking diplomat had ordered visiting Chinese students to come out in support of Hu, and “battle” with critics of the regime’s human rights record.
The Toronto Star called the reporting “hard hitting,” and Hu’s delegation demanded that our accredited reporter be excluded from the customary joint press conference. When the press gallery refused, the press conference was replaced with a photo-op.
It was not the first time The Epoch Times had drawn the attention of Chinese authorities, however. In 2004, the newspaper published a book-length series of editorials on the history and nature of the Chinese Communist Party.
The “Nine Commentaries” sparked a movement of Chinese who have renounced their ties to the Party, aided by free software The Epoch Times has provided users in China allowing them to break through China’s internet firewall. According to a study by researchers at Harvard and the University of Toronto, the “Nine Commentaries” became one of the most heavily censored terms on the Chinese Internet.
In 2006, The Epoch Times first published interviews with two witnesses who had knowledge that practitioners of the persecuted Falun Gong spiritual group in China had been killed by the regime for their organs, which they said were sold in a lucrative organ trade.
The reports led to an independent investigation by two prominent Canadians, former parliamentarian David Kilgour, and respected international human-rights lawyer David Matas, who concluded that the organ harvesting against Falun Gong was in fact widespread in China. The two were nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize last year for their work, and the Chinese regime has responded by revising its laws on organ donation, though many still worry that the abuses continue.
Reporting on such topics has not made life easy for The Epoch Times. Press freedom organizations such as Reporters Without Borders, the Committee to Protect Journalists, and the International Federation of Journalists have documented arrests of Epoch Times reporters in China, and several attacks outside China.
Yet the persistence of The Epoch Times has been recognized with a number of awards, including an honour from the National Ethnic Press and Media Council of Canada. The “Nine Commentaries” was given a top prize by the Asian American Journalist Association.
And though 10 years ago few non-Chinese had heard of The Epoch Times, today the paper is recognized as an important, independent voice both inside and outside the Chinese community.
The paper’s tenth anniversary drew congratulations from officials on all sides who are aware of its unique standing among Chinese newspapers.
“I have no doubt that The Epoch Times will continue its dedication to the highest level of journalism and have many more years of success,” wrote Hamilton New Democrat MP David Christopherson, in a letter marking the occasion.
“[The Epoch Times] was created as a direct response to the community’s request for reliable, uncensored reporting of news stories coming out of China,” said former cabinet minister Judy Sgro, now federal Liberal critic for seniors and pensions.
“Bold, engaging, thoughtful, The Epoch Times has become one of Canada’s premier publications,” wrote federal Environment Minister Peter Kent, himself a celebrated journalist and broadcaster. “For ten years now, the award-winning newspaper has been building bridges between communities and covering stories that are shaping our world.
“Growing from a solely Chinese-language publication to a newspaper published in a dozen languages, The Epoch Times’ immense success is a testament to the public’s appetite for a fearless, independent voice.”
Prime Minister Stephen Harper commended everyone involved in the paper for their commitment to diversity and tolerance.
“This special milestone offers a chance to reflect upon the achievements of the past decade with pride, and to look to the future with confidence,” he wrote.
Ontario NPD MPP Michael Prue took the occasion to describe his experience as a reader of The Epoch Times.
“In my job as Member of Provincial Parliament we receive a multitude of magazines, newspapers and periodical. Some are informative, some give information unique to a specific region or issue. But every week I look forward to receiving The Epoch Times.
“The articles are unique. Not only do I get a perspective from the Chinese Canadian community on the latest social and political events, but I also have the opportunity to read excellent scientific findings in palaeontology and geo-stellar phenomena.
The Epoch Times officially reached its 10-year milestone in Canada in December 2010 and published a special edition of its Chinese newspaper on the occasion of the Chinese New Year in January.
