Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
08BEIJING2009
2008-05-23 10:32:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Beijing
Cable title:  

PRC OFFICIALS URGED TO FIND A BETTER

Tags:  PROP PREL PGOV KOLY KS AS CH 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO3278
PP RUEHCN RUEHGH RUEHVC
DE RUEHBJ #2009/01 1441032
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 231032Z MAY 08
FM AMEMBASSY BEIJING
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 7483
INFO RUEHOO/CHINA POSTS COLLECTIVE
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC
RHMFISS/CDR USPACOM HONOLULU HI
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BEIJING 002009 

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/23/2018
TAGS: PROP PREL PGOV KOLY KS AS CH
SUBJECT: PRC OFFICIALS URGED TO FIND A BETTER
TIBET/OLYMPICS MEDIA STRATEGY

BEIJING 00002009 001.2 OF 003


Classified By: Political Minister Counselor Aubrey Carlson.
Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).

Summary
-------

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BEIJING 002009

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/23/2018
TAGS: PROP PREL PGOV KOLY KS AS CH
SUBJECT: PRC OFFICIALS URGED TO FIND A BETTER
TIBET/OLYMPICS MEDIA STRATEGY

BEIJING 00002009 001.2 OF 003


Classified By: Political Minister Counselor Aubrey Carlson.
Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d).

Summary
--------------


1. (C) Chinese and foreign communications experts
criticized the Chinese Government's handling of the
negative publicity surrounding the Olympic torch relay
at an off-the-record academic seminar attended by MFA
and State Council Information Office officials (and
PolOff) May 10. Participants cited the 1988 Seoul
Games as a positive example for China, because South
Korea at the time was a target of international human
rights criticism yet still managed to host a
successful Games that bolstered the regime's
legitimacy. Two public relations experts said the
Chinese Government remains too slow in responding to
negative media stories and its desire to control the
message prevents it from enlisting help from
sympathetic groups overseas. Foreign guests at the
conference urged China to fulfill its Olympics bid
commitments by allowing foreign reporters unfettered
access to all regions, including Tibet. State Council
Information Office Press Department Director Guo
Weimin said China wants to improve its transparency,
but he lamented that "anti-China prejudice" among many
Western journalists is too great to overcome.
Comment: Guo's sentiments are typical of the Chinese
academics and officials who participated. While
acknowledging that relaxing controls on the foreign
media could help boost China's image in the run-up to
the Olympics, they worried that giving journalists
freer reign would result in even more negative
reporting. (Note: This seminar occurred two days
before the devastating May 12 Wenchuan earthquake that
was followed by unprecedented -- albeit not unfettered
-- openness to foreign and domestic media coverage.)
End Summary and Comment.


2. (C) Chinese and foreign participants at a May 10
seminar on "The Olympics, International Communications
and Non-Traditional Security" urged China to adopt a
more sophisticated and proactive strategy to counter

negative publicity surrounding the Chinese response to
unrest in Tibet and the Olympic torch relay. The
Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS) Center for
Regional Security Studies and Tsinghua University's
International Center for Communication Studies co-
sponsored the seminar. In addition to discussion of
public relations strategies China should consider,
speakers also explored how the lessons of the 2000
Sydney Olympics and the 1988 Seoul Olympics could
apply to Beijing.

Torch Demonstrations are a "Non-Traditional Threat"
-------------- --------------


3. (C) In one panel discussion, Wang Yizhou, Vice
Director of CASS's Institute of World Economics and
Politics, stated that anti-China demonstrations
surrounding the torch relay are an example of a non-
traditional security threat, involving non-state
actors, driven by societal factors and not
controllable by the military. While a small number of
torch relay demonstrators were conspirators seeking to
embarrass China and disrupt the Olympic Games, Wang
said, many were "good people" with misguided views on
Tibet. Changing the views of the "children and
housewives" who participated in the London and Paris
demonstrations represents an important challenge for
China, he argued. The Western media's
"sensationalism" of the torch protests added to the
demonstrators' effectiveness. This "media bias" has
proven very difficult to counter, because China "does
not handle the international media well." (As an
aside, Wang urged an honest assessment within China
about the Tibet unrest. It is not true that only a
small number of Tibetans engaged in violence; the
unrest was widespread, he said. China should reflect
on its Tibet policy and the problems that exist in
ethnic relations.)

Lessons from Sydney 2000 and Seoul 1988
--------------


4. (C) A second panel explored lessons China could
draw from the Sydney 2000 and Seoul 1988 Olympics.

BEIJING 00002009 002 OF 003


Panelists noted that aborigine rights groups had
threatened to demonstrate at the Sydney Games. Ian
McCartney, a security officer at the Australian
Embassy who was involved in preparations for the 2000
Olympics, stressed that the Olympics must be run as "a
sporting event, not a security event," because too
much security makes it impossible for people to enjoy
the Games. Australia, McCartney acknowledged, has the
twin advantages of geographic isolation and internal
political stability. Nevertheless, prior to the 2000
Olympics opening ceremony, Australia engaged in a
comprehensive intelligence program to identify
potential threats. Also, to prevent major
disruptions, Australia's parliament passed legislation
giving police more power to disperse demonstrators.


5. (C) Dong Xiangrong, a scholar at the CASS Institute
of Asia-Pacific Studies, noted parallels between the
2008 Beijing Games and the 1988 Seoul Olympics. The
Seoul Games were also conducted in a difficult
international political climate. At the time, South
Korea did not have diplomatic relations with socialist
countries, and many predicted that the Soviet bloc
would boycott. Dong said that while the Olympics did
embolden South Korean student demonstrators who knew
the Government could not use harsh methods against
them for fear of endangering the Games, it is an
oversimplification to say the event promoted political
liberalization. South Korean Embassy First Secretary
Suh Doo Hyun agreed, saying the 1988 Games succeeded
despite widespread international criticism of South
Korea's human rights record. The success of the Games
boosted support for the regime and turned into a huge
public relations boon, he said.

China "Losing PR Battle to the Dalai Lama"
--------------


6. (C) Next, two communications experts gave blunt
assessments of the Chinese Government's public
relations deficiencies. Serge Dumont, Asia Pacific
president of the Omnicom Group, said China has already
fallen into a public relations crisis, as the Olympics
have become a focus for international criticism.
Dumont said China's decision to engage in talks with
the Dalai Lama's representatives May 4 was a smart
move, but China is still losing the public relations
battle. When Westerners see the Dalai Lama, they see
a "nice man who speaks of love and peace." The Dalai
Lama also follows a key rule of public relations by
staying positive and rarely criticizing others.
Furthermore, Dumont continued, the Chinese Government
does not trust outsiders to make its case. Most of
the time, the local Chinese ambassador is the only
person explaining China's position to foreign
audiences. However, Chinese officials do not
understand that Westerners typically view governments
as among the least credible sources of information.
China should rely more on sympathetic foreign NGOs,
such as business groups, to help convince foreign
audiences. It needs to be a French person telling a
French audience why it is important to maintain good
relations with China, Dumont stressed.


7. (C) Wu Xu, Assistant Professor of Communications at
Arizona State University, told the group the Chinese
Government is still too slow to react to public
relations crises. In addition, China has trouble
distinguishing which media figures are truly
influential. For example, the Chinese Government has
spent a great deal of energy denouncing CNN
commentator Jack Cafferty, yet Cafferty only gets five
minutes of air time per week. Meanwhile, China
largely ignores anti-China statements by Lou Dobbs,
who has a daily show on CNN. China also tends to deny
visas to unfriendly journalists, which Wu argued is
counterproductive.

More Openness and Tolerance Needed
--------------


8. (C) Donald Morrison, former editor-in-chief of the
Asian edition of Time magazine and current visiting
scholar at Tsinghua, urged China to put the recent
negative press in perspective. China should realize
that Western media are not engaged in a "plot" to
"keep China down." Despite the recent pubic anger at
foreign journalists, Morrison argued, most Beijing-

BEIJING 00002009 003.2 OF 003


based correspondents "really love China." However,
they find their work extremely difficult, and in the
wake of the Tibet unrest many have received death
threats. Morrison argued that China should invite
more Western editors and media executives to visit
rather than focus its efforts on working-level
journalists. PolOff, who was also invited to speak,
made the point that China should fulfill its Olympic
commitments by allowing unfettered access for foreign
reporters to all areas, including Tibet, and should
treat inevitable Olympic protestors with tolerance.


9. (C) Li Xiguang, Executive Dean of Tsinghua's School
of Journalism and Communications, suggested that
Beijing's Olympic organizers establish a designated
protest area close to the Olympic village. Tsinghua
University Journalism Professor Zhou Qing'an noted
that in past controversies surrounding the Olympics,
negative publicity generally peaked three to six
months before the opening ceremony. Zhou said that
one positive outcome of the uproar over Tibet and the
torch relay is that China is developing a thicker
skin, as its tolerance for negative news reporting
increases.

"Western Media Neither Friend Nor Foe"
--------------


10. (C) Guo Weimin, director of the Press Department
at the State Council Information Office, closed the
conference by saying that China is moving toward
greater openness but still "needs time." Guo said he
led a group of Western journalists to Lhasa in late
March, but was chagrined to find that their subsequent
reporting was just as "negative" as before the trip.
The anti-China prejudice of some Western journalists,
Guo theorized, may simply run too deep to change.
Nevertheless, Guo said, China will continue to improve
information flow and to become more open and
transparent. "Western media is not our friend," Guo
said, "but it is also not our enemy."
PICCUTA