Blessed by Beijing – Times of India Feedzy

China’s propaganda war is well funded and waged subtly. Centre and states must coordinate:

An investigation by NYThas blown the lid off sophisticated Chinese influence operations around the world that also have security repercussions for India. At the heart of the findings is a network run by American millionaire Neville Roy Singham, who is based in Shanghai and reportedly works closely with Chinese Communist Party and its propaganda machinery. Non-profits set up or funded by Singham have gone on to fund think tanks, African political parties and non-profits, and even media in third countries. The common thread among the beneficiaries is that they push CCP talking points. In India, Singham’s network is reported to have funded a news website.

All of this is cleverly done to maintain aveneer of impartiality. Under Xi Jinping, Beijing has significantly upped such operations. The aim is to create a favourable narrative about China through cultivating news farms, spreading disinformation, and even financing seemingly innocuous public projects.

For instance, Taiwan recently started flagging Chinese-funded beautification projects in Taiwanese provinces. The funds are routed as part of a contest held by China’s Fujian province, but the real aim is to influence Taiwanese in the cultural space. Given China’s massive resources, similar influence operations might be attempted against India. For, India is a huge country with an administrative matrix where the parts don’t always talk to each other. Add to this a significant percentage of people who are underemployed/ poorly paid, and it is easy to see how Beijing can exploit Indian vulnerabilities. Therefore, GOI needs to be extra vigilant about Beijing’s ‘smokeless war’, coordinate with all state governments, and see this as another reason to grow the economy faster.

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