As China reels from a slowed economy, and as dissent grows among its citizens, Chinese President Xi Jinping is oiling the country's propaganda machine, initiating a rare, high-profile tour of the nation's most prominent media outlets on Friday, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The president's visit targeted three of the Communist Party's most powerful mouthpieces, the People's Daily, the official Xinhua News Agency, and state broadcaster China Central Television. Xi's tour marked the first time he has visited the media outlets since he took power three years ago.
During his whirlwind tour, the Chinese president asserted that the Communist Party and the state media must always see eye to eye, and that reports must have the party's best interests in mind, reports The Guardian.
"The media run by the party and the government are the propaganda fronts and must have the party as their family name. All the work by the party's media must reflect the party's will, safeguard the party's authority, and safeguard the party's unity. They must love the party, protect the party, and closely align themselves with the party leadership in thought, politics and action," he said.
China's media outlets are among the most restricted in the world, with the country's most daring journalists and editors usually ending up behind bars after attempting to incite dissent by reporting negatively on the Communist Party. Currently, the country has the most journalists behind bars and ranks 176th out of 180 countries on the World Press Freedom Index, as compiled by Reporters Without Borders, reports The Sydney Morning Herald.
With the country seemingly heading towards dire straits, Xi Jinping's sudden, rare appearance in Chinese state media outlets could be seen as an attempt to rally the country's propaganda machine behind him, and most importantly, his image to the Chinese people.
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