Gordon Chang: ‘China has essentially corrupted US media’
'This is unacceptable… we could lose our country,' he said.
The New York Times was criticized on Monday for publishing an essay by the head of a Communist China-linked think tank without initially disclosing his affiliation – less than one month after author Gordon Chang told Fox News Digital that "China has essentially corrupted U.S. media."
The piece, headlined "It’s Time to Offer Russia an Offramp. China Can Help With That," initially described author Wang Huiyao as "the founder and president of the Center for China and Globalization, a nongovernmental think tank based in Beijing." After the Times was called out on social media, Wang’s description was altered to state that he also "advises the Chinese government in that capacity," but no correction or explanation was provided to readers.
It also did not mention his affiliation with China's United Front Work Department, which operates under the jurisdiction of the Chinese Communist Party.
The New York Times was criticized on Monday for publishing an essay by the head of a Communist China-linked think tank without initially disclosing his affiliation
A New York Times spokesperson told Fox News Digital that Wang’s role advising the Chinese government was always transparent, but was moved up after it was first published.
"That information was originally in his author bio at the end of the piece. To ensure our readers had this information from the get-go, we added that detail to his bio at the top of the piece, too, after publication. Times Opinion publishes a range of viewpoints on important issues, including many pieces in recent weeks on the invasion of Ukraine," the spokesperson said.
The opinion piece praised China, painting the communist nation as an option to serve as an "off-ramp" for Russian President Vladimir Putin amid his country’s invasion of Ukraine.
"The United States and its allies might be reluctant to have China play any role in this crisis, given that they view Beijing as a strategic rival. That’s foolish and shortsighted; the conflict’s immediate dangers far outweigh any competitive considerations. Ukraine itself sees the potential of Chinese-led conflict resolution," Wang wrote. "So far, China has called for dialogue and says it supports humanitarian aid efforts. But Beijing’s interests in more proactive involvement are growing by the day."
The Times opinion piece then declared "China has a significant economic interest in a quick resolution to the Russian-Ukrainian war" because of strong ties to both countries and a good relationship between Putin and President Xi Jinping.
"China is also uniquely positioned to act as a neutral mediator between a Western-supported Ukraine and Russia. Yes, Beijing and Moscow have a strong and growing relationship, especially in the economic realm. China’s demand for resources that Russia has in abundance — food and energy — as well as a mutual dissatisfaction with the current state of the U.S.-led world order have increasingly drawn the two countries together," Wang wrote.
Wang wrote several other pro-China talking points in the Times for American readers to consume, such as the notion that Chinese business could decrease involvement with Russia despite not joining sanctions, an interest in keep global military budgets low, claims that "China deeply values the principle of state sovereignty and has long opposed outside interference in what it considers internal affairs such as Taiwan" and a desire to help end the Russia-Ukraine conflict to improve the country’s standing with the West after facing global criticism over human rights violations.
"Playing a constructive role in ending the war could help cast China as a strategic and not just economic partner," Wang wrote.
Chang, who authored "The Great U.S.-China tech War, recently said China is attempting to infiltrate American media in order to manipulate coverage throughout the West.
"China has essentially corrupted U.S. media. They’ve done this through money, and therefore, they warp the coverage," he told Fox News Digital backstage at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) last month.
"This is pervasive and until we do something about cutting these contacts, we are going to have Communist Party propaganda streamed into American homes by American media outlets," Chang said. "This is unacceptable."
Chang noted that closely guarded Chinese media organizations wouldn’t even consider allowing readers to consume American talking points, so he doesn’t understand why U.S. outlets offer that opportunity to Chinese officials.
"We can’t do the same thing in China," he said.
Chang has suggested President Biden needs to put an end to China’s corruption of the free press.
"Obviously the media won’t police itself, U.S. companies won’t police themselves, I believe that the President of the United States must evoke the International Emergency Economic Powers act of 1977 to cut off these contacts," Chang said, referring to the ability of the president to declare a national emergency to combat China invading American media.
"China uses all of its contacts with American society to try to overthrow our government, our way of life, and we’re being overwhelmed. Our FBI is being overwhelmed, local law enforcement is overwhelmed, institutions are being overwhelmed," Chang said. "Until we get a handle on this, we have to cut those contacts, or we could lose our society."
Meanwhile, the Times opinion piece that initially didn’t even inform readers that its author was an adviser to the Chinese government continued to push the notion that China could help broker peace between Ukraine and Russia.
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"Beijing could help to broker an immediate cease-fire as a prelude to talks among Russia, Ukraine, the United States, the European Union and China," Wang wrote. "Beijing’s goal would be to find a solution that gives Mr. Putin sufficient security assurances that can be presented as a win to his domestic audience while protecting Ukraine’s core sovereignty and NATO’s open-door policy. Finding a landing zone for such an agreement is challenging but not impossible. Some creative diplomacy could solve this, such as a formula for NATO expansion that rules out Ukrainian membership in practice while preserving its sovereignty and NATO principles in theory."
Wang concluded the piece: "Securing a multilateral resolution to the crisis in Ukraine will be a tough and risky challenge, but there is no country better placed to do so than China."
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