The Global Times is often considered a 'hardline' newspaper. A comprehensive reading of the editorial section tells a different story.
A growing conviction is taking root in America that Chinese views of the international system are becoming increasingly assertive and nationalistic. One of the prime referents for this contention is the Global Times (Huanqiu Shibao), a hugely popular Chinese newspaper that is frequently portrayed as promoting an ever more hardline and nationalist take on the world.
At first glance this reputation appears to be well deserved. In recent months the paper has published a number of combative editorials on the ongoing standoff with the Philippines regarding ownership of portions of the South China Sea and its territorial dispute with Japan over the Diaoyu/Senkaku Islands. In short, it appears to be at the epicenter of a growing wave of aggressive Chinese rhetoric. The actual content of the paper, however, does not live up to such a characterization.
The Global Times’ editorial page, called the International Forum (Guoji Luntan), contains a much more diverse set of views than the paper’s reputation would lead one to expect. Editorials have appeared in this influential section of the paper for well over a decade. A comprehensive reading of these pieces uncovers that while fervent nationalist perspectives were published during this time, the most prolific non-staff contributors to the International Forum did not frequently promote such a worldview. On the contrary, within this elite group a plurality of perspectives about both China and the rest of the international system was evident. Even more surprisingly, in recent years such diversity of opinion became more, rather than less, pronounced.
The top contributors to the International Forum fell into two distinct periods. The first of these lasted from 1999 through October of 2008. During this time the vast majority of authors were members of the Chinese foreign policy establishment. While a handful of these individuals consistently expressed combative views about China’s position in the world, most were not especially assertive and generally promoted conventional, albeit largely realist, stances on international relations. Writing that was quite internationalist and cosmopolitan in both tone and tenor often complemented these approaches. Nationalism, while visible, was far from the dominant note in such commentary.
Fall 2008 witnessed a sizeable shift in both the editorial page’s top contributors and the content of their essays, as a new crop of authors with backgrounds in economics assumed prominence.This new group’s celebrity stems as much from their popularity in cyberspace as stature in academic journals, and their writings focused on the repercussions of the worldwide economic downturn rather than traditional security concerns.
Photo Credit: \!/_PeacePlusOne (flickr)
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The Global Tibetan
How about the atrocities committed by the Han Chinese against my own people, the Tibetans? Are you going to trivilize them? A sovereign nation occupied until now by China, Tibet is suffering too much.
belyhee’s quantum
what the atrocities committed by the Han Chinese against the Tibetans,Can you tell me a Han Chinese?
The Tibetans govern the Tibet.yes,we did.the leaders of Tibet are all Tibetans.
More senator of Tibetans in parliament. yes we did.
Believe the Buddhism.as you please, and my mother is a Buddhist too,I am not.
Animal husbandry life.yes you can,but I think the Green Economy is more popular.
The ancient Tibet was Slave society,and there was a Shangri-La only for nobleman.The common people were "the pets of Elizabeth Báthory".Do u like it really?
laowai
They are doing a slow genocide. Putting some Han massively in an area where they DO NOT BELONG, AND NEVER DID. Giving them fiscal advantages, in order to make them richer than the locals. Destroying culture, buildings, traditions by showing and forcing consumption, advertising. then encouraging ( forcing ) mixed weddings to erase in 2 to 3 generations the locals.
Lhasa 30 years ago, and now, 2 different cities. Better ? NOP.
saving the face with fake political people, who HAVE NO WORD TO SAY, is a bit of a scam, no ?
tibet is trusted FOR ONE REASON : WATER.
Tibet is a prisoner of China, for its ressources.
Soon it will be chinese fully. YES.
Was it nicely done : NO.
andy
I can spare you the trouble of this article.
The Global Times English and Chinese are not the same paper and do not employ the same staff.
The Global Times Chinese edition is the boss but not on a day to day basis.
Mazo
Trying to divine Chinese government policy from reading the Global Times is like trying to predict rainfall by studying a dog's tail – utterly pointless! At best the Global times is a lagging indicator of Chinese public perception, nothing more! Yet there are "academic" studies of nationalistic rags like the Global Times because of the opacity of the Chinese government policy apparatus.
To take a Western example, it is like reading Fox News or the Daily Show to understand US government policy – absurd.
A far more accurate and better indicator of Chinese official thinking can be found through Chinese microblogging sites and university forums. Most Chinese are not as insane as their newspapers and officials make them out to be.