The Shanghai News (1950–1952): New Democracy and External Propaganda in Early 1950s Shanghai. Issue 1 (January 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Howlett, Jonathan J.
• Is Part Of: Journal of Chinese history. Volume 5:Issue 1(2021)
• Page Start: 107
• Page End: 130
• Publication Date: 2021-01
• Subjects: The Shanghai News, -- New Democracy, -- external propaganda; China -- History -- Periodicals; 951.005
• DOI: 10.1017/jch.2020.5
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2059-1632

Abstract

Abstract: The Shanghai News was the People's Republic of China's (PRC's) first English-language newspaper. The News played an important, but forgotten, role in the development of the PRC's "external propaganda" apparatus, used to fight the ideological Cold War. The News was unusual in that it adopted a commercial business model and juxtaposed vehement anti-imperialist propaganda with advertising for multinational companies from "imperialist-capitalist countries." This article argues that the News was a product of "New Democracy, " the central political paradigm of the PRC between 1949 and 1953. New Democracy, a policy of cross-class cooperation in the name of national reconstruction, is often dismissed as cynical tactic deployed by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to diminish resistance during the takeover of China. The author argues for taking the real world impacts of New Democracy on life and work in early 1950s Shanghai seriously and cautions against teleological narratives.