Publicity Department of the Chinese Communist Party

Following the 1st Party National Congress in 1921, the CCP Central Committee decided to establish the Central Propaganda Department of the CCP. The department was founded in May 1924. At its establishment, the department was structured using its counterpart in the Soviet Union as a model. The Resolution on Propaganda Work of the 4th Party National Congress in 1925 stipulated that "to make propaganda work perfect and systematic, the Central Committee should have a strong propaganda department to be responsible for all matters and to guide the local propaganda departments to have a close and systematic relationship with it." In October 1928, the CCP Central Committee required provincial committees, the county and district committees to set up local propaganda departments and that the party branches have propaganda officers to be responsible for propaganda work. In 1938, Mao Zedong stated that the department's focus should be publishing textbooks for soldiers and instructional material for cadres. During World War II, the department was assigned leadership and censorship tasks in the areas of theory, opinion, education, and culture as part of the war effort. and mandated that the Propaganda Department lead and review newspapers and magazines. On 20 June 1941, the ''Outline of the Central Propaganda Department on the Party's Propaganda and Mobilization Work'' stated that "all theories, propositions, education, culture, literature and art, etc., belong to the scope of propaganda and mobilization activities" and "printing, radio and film are powerful tools for propaganda and mobilization." After 1943, the Central Propaganda Department was responsible for implementing the Party's policies in literary and artistic work and news work. In 1946, the Central Propaganda Department put forward requirements for positive propaganda in the Notice on the Propaganda Policy of Broadcasting and Newspapers. After 1949 Before the founding of the People's Republic of China, the Central Propaganda Department managed cultural and educational work. After the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, the department took on a greater role in activities related to mass organizations, such as trade unions, artists' associations, and party branches. Shortly after the Cultural Revolution, the Central Propaganda Department was abolished. According to the May 16 Notice of the Central Committee in May 1966, the Cultural Revolution Group concurrently held its powers. The appendix to the May 16 Notice stated: "The Central Propaganda Department is the palace of the King of Hell", "the King of Hell should be overthrown and the little devils should be liberated", and "the Central Propaganda Department should be dissolved". Lu Dingyi was labeled a "counter-revolutionary." Nine deputy ministers of the Propaganda Department were labeled "traitors," "spies," and "Kuomintang members," respectively. The minister, deputy ministers, and secretary-general of the Propaganda Department were the first to be implicated, referred to as the "Kings of Hell." An enlarged meeting of the Politburo made a "Decision on the Suspension and Removal of Comrades Peng Zhen, Lu Dingyi, Luo Ruiqing, and Yang Shangkun from Their Posts," and issued an "Explanation on the Errors of Comrades Lu Dingyi and Yang Shangkun". Tao Zhu was transferred to serve as Executive Secretary of the Secretariat, concurrently serving as Minister of the Propaganda Department. Deputy Ministers Xu Liqun, Yao Zhen, and Lin Mohan, and Secretary-General Tong Dalin were suspended from their duties for self-reflection. On June 23, the Cultural Revolution Group of the Propaganda Department, headed by Tao Zhu, was established. In 1967, the department established the Office for the Translation of Chairman Mao's works. At a meeting of all staff members of the Propaganda Department, Tao Zhu announced the "Decision of the Central Committee on Reorganizing the Leadership of the Propaganda Department," and announced the abolition of the original departments and offices, replacing them with four departments and one office: the Department of Mao Zedong Thought Propaganda, the Department of Party Member and Cadre Education, the Department of Cadre Management, the Secretariat, and the Investigation and Research Office. On July 27, 1968, the Central Committee decided to impose military control over the former Central Propaganda Department. It appointed Li Xiao as head of the military control group and Wang Shaoping as deputy head. After the Central Propaganda Department was first smashed as a "palace of the King of Hell", propaganda, publishing and cultural departments at all levels of the Party and government were also "smashed" and then "militarily controlled". In October 1977, the 11th CCP National Congress approved the "Report on the Establishment of the Central Propaganda Department", reorganized the department, restoring its original functions and powers, and appointed Zhang Pinghua as its head. The directive on the re-establishment of the Central Propaganda Department reveals the structure and organization of the "extremely secretive" body, according to Anne-Marie Brady. The directive states that the department will be set up with one Director and several deputies, and the organizational structure will be set up with one office and five bureaus. The office is responsible for political, secretarial, and administrative work, and the five bureaus are: the Bureau of Theory, the Bureau of Propaganda and Education, the Bureau of Arts and Culture, the Bureau of News, and the Bureau of Publishing. The directive states that the staff will be fixed at around 200 personnel, selected from propaganda personnel across the country in consultation with the Central Organization Department. ==Name==

The CCPPD has several Chinese names, each with different English translations. Officially, it is the Zhōngguó Gòngchăndǎng Zhōngyāng Wěiyuánhuì Xuānchuánbù "Chinese Communist Party Central Committee Publicity Department" or Zhōnggòng Zhōngyāng Xuānchuánbù "Chinese Communist Party Central Publicity Department" or "Central Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China", colloquially abbreviated as the Zhōnggòng Xuānchuánbù "Chinese Communist Party Publicity Department" or "Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China", or simply Zhōng xuānbù (). The Zhōnggòng Zhōngyāng Xuānchuán Bù changed its official English name from "Propaganda Department of the Communist Party of China" to "Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China". As China's involvement in world affairs grew in the 1990s, the CCP became sensitive to the negative connotations of the English translation propaganda for xuanchuan. Official replacement translations include publicity, information, and political communication External names Under the "one institution with two names" system, the Central Propaganda Department uses several external names for different purposes (e.g., a public government statement). These names include: • State Council Information Office (SCIO, absorbed in 2014) • National Press and Publication Administration (NPPA) • National Copyright Administration (NCA) • China Film Administration (CFA) ==Function==

The Central Propaganda Department has a "direct leadership" () role in the media control system, working with other organizations such as the National Radio and Television Administration. Internet censorship is handled by the Cyberspace Administration of China. The department also engages in propaganda work for both domestic and foreign audiences designed to increase support for the CCP. It is also responsible for researching, devising, and disseminating the ideology of the CCP, CCP theory, and the Core Socialist Values. Additionally, the department monitors and researches public opinion on support for CCP policies, tracks potential political instability, and engages in arts, culture, and foreign cultural exchanges, as well as human rights propaganda. According to Bill Schiller of the Toronto Star, its scope is to control licensing of media outlets, and to give instructions to the media on what is and what is not to be said, especially about certain issues, such as Taiwan, Tibet, etc., that can affect state security, or the rule of the CCP. He says its central offices are located in an unmarked building near the Zhongnanhai at 5 West Chang'an Avenue, although the department has offices throughout the country at the provincial, municipal, and county level. Operational and reporting freedom increased in the Chinese media in the early 2000s. One important way the Propaganda Department has ensured that the media system remains well controlled is by ensuring that the boundaries of acceptable reporting are kept "deliberately fuzzy" in an effort to ensure that "news workers self-censor to a critical degree." Credentialing and monitoring media personnel The department sets media policies and guidelines, licenses media agencies and internet companies, and registers and trains journalists. According to a report from Freedom House, the Central Propaganda Department is the most important institution for monitoring media personnel and controlling the content of print and visual media. The report says that the Central Propaganda Department plays a key role in monitoring editors and journalists through a national registration system. It also says that in 2003, the CPD, along with the General Administration of Press and Publication and the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film, and Television, required Chinese journalists to attend nearly 50 hours of training on Marxism, the role of CCP leadership in the media, copyright law, libel law, national security law, regulations governing news content, and journalistic ethics before renewing press identification passes in 2003. According to Radio Free Asia, in December 2022, the department issued a directive stating that in order to obtain credentials as a professional journalist, they must pass a national exam and "must support the leadership of the Communist Party of China, conscientiously study, publicize and implement Xi Jinping's thoughts on the new era of socialism with Chinese characteristics, resolutely implement the party's theory, line, principles and policies, and adhere to the correct political direction and public opinion guidance". ==Structure==

The leadership of the Propaganda Department is selected with guidance from the CCP General Secretary and the Politburo Standing Committee member responsible for the media, while local committees of the Propaganda Department work with lower levels of the party-state hierarchy to transmit content priorities to the media. The department has the following organizations: Internal organization • General Office • Policy and Regulation Research Office • Cadre Bureau • Theory Bureau • Publicity and Education Bureau • Culture and Arts Bureau • Public Opinion Information Bureau • Government Information Bureau • External Information Bureau • International Liaison Bureau • External Promotion Bureau • International Communications Bureau • Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan Information Bureau • Human Rights Affairs Bureau (Human Rights Affairs Bureau of the State Council Information Office) • Publishing House • Media Regulatory Authority • Printing and Distribution Bureau • Office for the Fight Against Pornography and Illegal Publications (National Office for the Fight Against Pornography and Illegal Publications) • Copyright Administration • Import and Export Administration • Film Bureau • Civilization Creation Bureau • Civilization Cultivation Bureau • Civilized Practice Bureau • Retired Cadres Bureau • National Office for Philosophy and Social Sciences • Office of Cultural System Reform and Development • Administration Bureau • Party Committee Public institution managed by the Publicity Department • China International Communications Group Directly affiliated institutions • Publicity Department Service Center (Information Center) • Publicity and Public Opinion Research Center of the Publicity Department • People's Publishing House • China Press and Publication Research Institute • News and Publishing Newspapers • China Copyright Protection Center • China National Library of Editions (Central Publicity Department Publications Data Center) • Central Publicity Department Publication Product Quality Supervision and Inspection Center (Central Publicity Department Publication Review Center) • National Publishing Fund Planning and Management Office • China Research Institute of Film Science and Technology • Film Technology Quality Inspection Institute of the Central Publicity Department • China Film Archive (China Film Art Research Center) • Film Script Planning and Design Center of the Central Publicity Department • Film Digital Program Management Center of the Central Publicity Department • Office of the National Film Industry Development Special Fund Management Committee • Film Satellite Channel Program Production Center of the Central Publicity Department • Human Rights Development and Exchange Center of the Central Publicity Department (Human Rights Development and Exchange Center of the State Council Information Office) • National Publicity Cadres College • Party Building Magazine • Current Affairs Report Magazine • China Daily • Editorial Department of China Civilization Network • Museum of the Chinese Communist Party • Ideological and Political Work Research Magazine Directly affiliated enterprises • China Film Group Corporation • China International Communication Center The Central Propaganda Department owns and runs the following organizations: • China Foundation for Human Rights Development The department also owns and controls the following state-owned enterprises: • China Publishing Group • China International Communication Center • China Intercontinental Press • China Intercontinental Communication Center ==Leaders==

Composition as of the 20th Central Committee • Head • Li Shulei, member of the Politburo • Executive deputy head • Hu Heping, minister of Culture and Tourism, member of the Central Committee • Deputy heads • Shen Haixiong, ministerial-level, head of the China Media Group, member of the CCP Central Committee • Zhuang Rongwen, ministerial-level, director of the Cyberspace Administration of China, member of the Central Committee • Cao Shumin, ministerial-level, director of the National Radio and Television Administration, alternate member of the Central Committee • Sun Yeli, ministerial-level, director of the State Council Information Office • Zhang Jianchun • Wang Gang == See also ==