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The China Daily is an English-language daily newspaper published in the People's Republic of China.
The state-run publication was established in June 1981 and has the widest print circulation (200,000 per issue, of which a third is abroad) of any English-language newspaper in the country. The editorial office is in the Chaoyang District of Beijing, and the newspaper has branch offices in most major cities of China as well as several foreign capitals. The paper is published by satellite in Europe and the United States.
The eight page paper, published Monday to Saturday, is regarded as the English-language mouthpiece for the government and is often used as a guide to official policy. It claims to serve an increasing number of foreigners in China, as well as Chinese who wish to improve their English. The editorial policies differ in being slightly more liberal than Chinese-language newspapers. The stated goals of the newspaper are to "objectively present China and China's news to a unique group of readers and providing services and entertainment specially suited to those readers." Of all Chinese newspapers, China Daily's reporting is claimed to most resemble that of Western journalism On its first publication on June 1, 1981, most of its journalists were Chinese nationals, some of whom had trained in Western institutions. Most of the paper's editorial staff are still Chinese, whose English reports are 'polished' by a small group of expatriate editors employed on short-term contracts.
Unlike newspapers outside of mainland China, like the South China Morning Post in Hong Kong—which has its own set of laws and customs regarding press freedom—expatriates hold no senior editorial or management positions in China Daily.
China Daily, has a monopoly, being the only official English-language national newspaper in China. It specifically targets an international audience, and is often given out for free in hotels. It is also intended to be read by foreign diplomats and tourists as it translates major Chinese media articles in its editorials. The paper also offers programme guides to Radio Beijing and television, daily exchange rates, local entertainment schedules and national and world news
The paper largely reflects the foreign policy of the Communist Party. Journalists practice a high degree of self-censorship at the paper. Subjects such as Tibet, Taiwan and Falun Gong are regarded sensitive and have to be approved by a higher authority before publication, which can lead to delays between major news stories and reportage in the paper.[6] One journalist working at the paper said, despite more openness in the media, "80 per cent of what we know we cannot report." The editor of the paper has told foreign editors that the paper's editorial policy was to support the policies of the Communist Party and only make criticism of the authorities if there was deviation from Party policy. Despite this, a number of editorials intend to give critical comments on both domestic and international issues
Chinadaily.com.cn runs bulletin boards to discuss topics of current interest. A team of full-time net censors "carefully deletes any 'anti-China' content, and 'guides' the online debate where necessary," according to Anne-Marie Brady's study.
Foreign editors at the paper have been told that like most state-owned enterprises, the China Daily will no longer receive government subsidies and the newspaper's publication group is expected to show a profit. To this end, the paper has adopted a more commercial approach and its editorial content is being pitched increasingly towards a wider range of readers so as to attract more advertising revenue. Much of the publishing group's revenue comes from real estate investments.
Other newspapers of the China Daily Group
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As a newspaper group, the China Daily Group also publishes 21st Century, Beijing Weekend, China Business Weekly, the China Daily Hong Kong Edition and the Shanghai Star. The China Daily is a member of the Asia News Network.
Source : Wikipedia
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