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businessman with business interests in China. There is an unsubstantiated rumor that the investment was subsidized by $1 million from the Ministry of
Propaganda.
e Duowei is another online source that was for years an independent Chinese-
language media. It was purchased in 2009 by a pro-PRC Hong Kong businessman.
¢ Mingjing, or Mirror Media, a Chinese-language web presence based in Canada, was once considered independent of Beijing’s control but has modified its
reporting in recent years.
¢ Backchina.com, (738, ranked as the fifth most popular Chinese website in the United States), was once a staunch critic of China like Duowei. But in 2017 its editors attended the ninth World Chinese Media Forum in China and its
reporting became far more positive about the PRC.
e Sing Tao Newspaper Group was established in Hong Kong in 1938. In 2001, it
was purchased by a pro-Beijing businessman.
e The World Journal (#53848) was for years the premier Chinese-language paper in
the United States. It, too, has softened its stance on the PRC in recent years.
e¢ Ming Pao served the Hong Kong-immigrant community. It is another formerly
independent newspaper that has fallen under Beijing’s control.
e Boxun is a Chinese-language news site whose servers are located in North Carolina. It was founded by an immigrant from China. Its news is highly
unreliable.
¢ The Epoch Times (2270), the Hope Radio, and New Tang Dynasty TV, remain independent of PRC control. They are either owned or operated by adherents to the Falun Gong sect, which is banned in China. Their reporting on China
is uneven.
¢ Vision Times (secretchina.com) was founded in 2001 as a website, secretchina
.com, and began publishing a free weekly newspaper in 2005.
Appendix 3
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