Hu Xijin

Hu Xijin (simplified Chinese: 胡锡进; traditional Chinese: 胡錫進; pinyin: Hú Xījìn; born 1960) is a Chinese journalist and editor of the Global Times, a state-owned tabloid under the auspices of the Chinese Communist Party's official People's Daily newspaper.

In this Chinese name, the family name is Hu.
Hu Xijin
胡锡进
Global Times Editor
Assumed office
2005
Personal details
Born (1960-04-08) April 8, 1960
Beijing, China
Political partyChinese Communist Party
Alma materBeijing Foreign Studies University
OccupationEditor, Journalist

Early life and education

Hu was born in Beijing. After graduating with a master's degree in Russian literature from Beijing Foreign Studies University in 1989, Hu began his career as a journalist at the People's Daily. Hu took part in the 1989 Tiananmen Square protests and he called the military action a tragedy caused by "student naivety" and government inexperience.[1][2]

He can speak Chinese, English and Russian.[3]

Career

Working as a foreign correspondent for the paper, he covered both the Bosnian War and the Iraq War. After covering Yugoslavia's break-up as a war correspondent, he came to admire strong Communist rule.[1]

Hu became editor of the Global Times in 2005, editing both the Chinese-language version and, after its establishment in 2009, the English-language version.[4] During Hu's time as editor of the Global Times, he has become known as a bellicose hard-liner.[5] “Frisbee Hu,” a nickname for Hu Xijin, arose from a joke that he retrieves whatever the government throws at him.[6][7]

He has been accused of being a propagandist.[8][2][9][10]

Amid the 2020 China–India skirmishes, ThePrint called Hu Xijin "the Arnab Goswami of China" and said that both of them are also "mirror opposites" because "neither acknowledges the truth on the ground because it doesn’t suit their journalism".[11]

Accusations of "astroturfing"

According to Richard Burger, a former editor at the Global Times, in the wake of the arrest of Ai Weiwei, the Chinese staff of the Global Times were ordered[12] by Hu to conduct an "astroturfing" campaign against Ai Weiwei in favor of the Chinese government's criticism of Ai as a "maverick".[13]

Commentary surrounding 2019–20 Hong Kong protests

During the 2019 Hong Kong Protests, Hu urged for direct shooting towards the protesters. He also advocated that the police should be waived from any responsibilities even if the protesters were fatally shot.[14] Hu warned that China would bar drafters of the Hong Kong Human Rights and Democracy Act, whose U.S. Senate sponsor is Florida Republican Marco Rubio, from entering mainland China as well as Hong Kong and Macau after U.S. President Trump signed it into law in November 2019.[15] He compared the protesters to "ISIS-like terrorists".[16]

Urging China to increase nuclear weapons

On 9 May 2020, Hu Xijin published an opinion piece urging the Chinese government to build more nuclear weapons, including 100 DF-41 intercontinental ballistic missiles.[17]

Taiwan

Hu Xijin has supported an increase in hostility with Taiwan. Notably in 2020 he suggested that Chinese fighter jets should enter into Taiwan's claimed airspace and if shot down, consider it to be a declaration of war.[18][19]

Personal life

In October 2020, Apple Daily reported that Hu's son had emigrated to Canada, and that he was mocked for it by fellow news reporters, however Hu denied that any of his children live abroad.[20] Additionally, it was reported that Hu makes a salary of 570,000 yuan per year at his job at the Global Times, and an additional 12,000,000 yuan per year on digital platforms such as TikTok and Toutiao.[20] Finally, it was also reported that Hu owns a luxury apartment worth 25,000,000 yuan.[20]

References
  1. "China's Global Times plays a peculiar role". The Economist. ISSN 0013-0613. Archived from the original on 2020-04-27. Retrieved 2020-05-09.
  2. Jiang, Steven (August 16, 2019). "The man taking on Hong Kong from deep inside China's propaganda machine". CNN. Archived from the original on December 2, 2019. Retrieved 2020-05-09.
  3. Global Times Russia (2019-08-22). "Владимир Путин сказал, что "восьмёрки" давно не существует. "Как же я могу возвратиться в организацию, которой не существует? "pic.twitter.com/cDblteG3B3". Twitter (in Russian). Archived from the original on 2020-08-23. Retrieved 2019-08-24.
  4. Huang, C. (2016). Conservative popular journalism, public diplomacy, and the search for an alternative Chinese modernity: Revisiting the global times. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-4724-4398-4. Archived from the original on 2020-08-23. Retrieved 2020-08-23.
  5. Garnaut, John (18 December 2010). "A cocktail of conspiracies delivered daily". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 24 December 2010. Retrieved 2013-02-06.
  6. Henochowicz, Anne (6 February 2014). "Eluding the "Ministry of Truth"". Nieman Reports. Archived from the original on 12 March 2015. Retrieved 30 January 2015.
  7. Alex, Colville (October 12, 2020). "Hu Xijin, China's greatest internet troll". SupChina. Archived from the original on October 14, 2020. Retrieved October 14, 2020.
  8. Teixeira, Lauren. "Beijing's Propaganda Is Playing the Trade War Safe". Foreign Policy. Archived from the original on 2019-06-18. Retrieved 2019-08-28.
  9. Hernández, Javier C. (2019-07-31). "When Trump Tweets, the Editor of 'China's Fox News' Hits Back". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 2020-08-01. Retrieved 2020-08-23.
  10. Hong, Brendon (2020-06-12). "This Tiananmen Protester Is Now Beijing's Troll-in-Chief". The Daily Beast. Archived from the original on 2020-08-23. Retrieved 2020-08-23.
  11. Malhotra, Jyoti (2020-06-09). "Chinese media is the superspreader of disinformation: From Covid to Ladakh". ThePrint. Archived from the original on 2020-10-02. Retrieved 2020-09-17.
  12. "zh:外籍傳媒人踢爆 總編命搜尋評論按中共路線批駁 《環球時報》抹黑艾未未內幕" [Foreign media insider exposes Global Times' managing editor's smearing of Ai Weiwei]. Apple Daily (in Chinese). Hong Kong. April 16, 2011. Archived from the original on August 23, 2020. Retrieved August 23, 2020.
  13. Apple Daily. "Foreign Media Insider Exposes Global Times's Smearing Of Ai Weiwei". YouTube. Archived from the original on 2014-10-09. Retrieved 2011-04-16.
  14. 《環時》總編冷血諫言：港警應獲授權射實彈 擊斃示威者不用負責｜蘋果新聞網｜蘋果日報. Apple Daily (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 2020-08-23. Retrieved 2019-11-18.
  15. Pang, Jessie; Cadell, Cate (November 28, 2019). "China warns U.S. over Hong Kong law as thousands stage 'Thanksgiving' rally". Reuters. Archived from the original on August 23, 2020. Retrieved May 9, 2020.
  16. "Here's what China is telling its people about Hong Kong protests - BNN Bloomberg". 2019-11-13. Archived from the original on 2019-12-17. Retrieved 2020-05-09.
  17. Tian, Yew Lun (2020-05-08). "China needs more nuclear warheads: Global Times editor". Reuters. Archived from the original on 2020-06-15. Retrieved 2020-10-14.
  18. "China says 'fighter jets of the PLA must fly over the island of Taiwan'". Taiwan News. 28 October 2020. Retrieved 28 October 2020.
  19. Engvers, Alexander. "The Principle of Sovereignty in the Air". Lund University Libraries. Lund University Publications. Retrieved 28 October 2020.
  20. "Editor of Beijing's mouthpiece denies moving family to Canada". Apple Daily 蘋果日報 (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 2020-10-09. Retrieved 2020-10-08.
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