Chinanews client, Beijing, September 27th (Reporter Zhang Ni) For more than a year, the world has been shrouded in the "haze" of the epidemic.

According to data from the World Health Organization, at present, the cumulative number of confirmed cases worldwide has exceeded 230 million.

While China is working hard to make positive contributions to the global fight against the epidemic, some Western media have spared no effort to discredit China.

　　Why do lies prevail in the West?

What created a "hotbed" for it?

How should China respond?

On the 26th, the "2021 World Internet Conference Wuzhen Summit-Global Anti-epidemic and International Communication Forum" hosted by China News Service and co-organized by China News Network was held in Wuzhen, Zhejiang.

At the meeting, Chinese and foreign experts discussed the above-mentioned series of issues.

The picture shows Zheng Yongnian, Dean of the Global and Contemporary China Institute for Advanced Study of the Chinese University of Hong Kong (Shenzhen), giving a video connection.

Photo by China News Agency reporter Han Haidan

What creates a "hotbed" for lies?

　　In 2020, a new crown pneumonia epidemic will sweep the world.

Over the past year or so, China has introduced a series of epidemic prevention and anti-epidemic measures, making a visible contribution to the global fight against the epidemic.

　　However, there are some criticisms of China in the international arena. Some Western media even deliberately discredit China and criticize China's epidemic prevention measures.

　　"There is no doubt that the success of China's war epidemic model has attracted the attention of the world. It should be said that it has attracted the respect and admiration of the vast majority of countries and friends, but it has also attracted some countries, "Envy, jealousy, hatred" of some media." Fudan University professor Zhang Weiwei emphasized in his speech.

　　As a media practitioner, I Guran, an American reporter from China Daily, said at the meeting that China’s method of controlling the epidemic is to paint a blueprint for the world, but some people in the world just refuse to listen.

"They have missed the window of time to implement the correct measures, even though China has provided them with such a window of time, they have also shared their experience."

　　Iguran said that some people in the West have launched waves of accusations against China in the media, questioning China's measures and the results of economic recovery, etc., and they are "flipping the pot."

　　So, what is the "hotbed" that leads to the spread of lies that the Western media promotes?

　　Zheng Yongnian, dean of the Institute for Advanced Studies of Global and Contemporary China at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (Shenzhen), believes that political lies are prevalent in the modern West, especially in the United States, and can be summarized into six reasons and factors: In Western politics, democratic political lies themselves have a strong culture. Tradition; Western assumptions about "rational people" do not hold; changes in technological conditions, the infinite power brought by the era of mass media; the rise of contemporary Western populism; the West has turned democratic ideologies into religious beliefs; American populism The rise of ism, the ruling elite is very weak.

　　Zheng Yongnian said that in Western politics, the lies of democratic politics have a strong cultural tradition.

"As long as your goal is right, what I do is correct. Lies are also part of Western politics. From the perspective of many Western politicians, lies also have their legitimacy."

　　"Now there is one person, one microphone, and everyone has social media. In this era, the era of real mass media has come. This one person, one microphone and one person, one vote of Western democracy have produced infinite power, making these rumors fast Effective communication." Zheng Yongnian emphasized that social media is effective in shaping the positive, but it is also very effective in shaping negative and negative lies.

　　For Wu Peng, Director of the Department of African Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, language is also an obstacle.

　　He gave an example: "I often encourage Chinese companies in Africa to stand up and talk about China. It is not easy. There are cultural reasons and language difficulties. In fact, one of the biggest difficulties in our international communication is language. Because now is the age of social media, if China cannot tell stories in their language, you will have fewer audiences."

The picture shows Wu Peng, Director of the Department of African Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, giving a speech.

Photo by China News Agency reporter Han Haidan

How to make a lie "defeat itself without attack"?

　　In the face of slanders and doubts from the outside world, what should China do to expose the lies and let the international community see the truth?

In the opinion of the participating experts, "telling China's story well" is the key.

　　At the meeting, British internet celebrity video blogger Situ Jianguo shared his experience.

　　During the epidemic, Situ Jianguo photographed a large number of Chinese people’s daily lives: when work resumed, Situ Jianguo went to Yanqing, Beijing, and accompanied the farmers; went to Yuying Village, Luanping County, Hebei Province to record the changes in the village and the villagers... …

　　"The global epidemic is not over yet. Through my video, viewers can see that China's development and progress are continuing. The work of improving the lives of the people across the country has not stopped. The poverty alleviation and prosperity have not stopped. Ecological protection has not stopped. The camera said so because I took the shot and everyone can see it." Situ Jianguo said.

　　In his opinion, instead of appearing on the camera and directly saying "China is capable, don't worry", it is better to let the happiness and smile of the Chinese people answer.

　　"We have to tell the Chinese story well. In this Internet age, very shallow and fast concepts are often flashed by and are constantly being repeated. Therefore, some wrong concepts are burned in the minds of others, and we have to use deeper and deeper concepts. Real things to fight back." Wu Peng said.

　　Today’s Russian International News Agency’s Beijing bureau chief, Asai, said that insisting on the authenticity of news, being loyal to the facts, and not making false reports are the basic principles of journalists’ professional ethics.

Today's world is in a difficult period, and these principles must play a greater role.

　　"The politicization of the epidemic must stop, and no one person or institution is allowed to use the fight against the epidemic to seek their own interests. Media cooperation is also very important. The epidemic is not a single country's problem, but a global problem that can only be solved by the actions of all countries in the world. Questions. This includes cooperation between media, exchange of correct information, combating fake news, providing opportunities to exchange experience and so on." Asai said.

　　In Zhang Weiwei's view, to deal with Western slander, communication and confrontation must be carried out at the same time.

　　He said that since the beginning of the epidemic, the mainstream Western media has carried out vicious attacks on the entire prevention and control of the epidemic in China.

For this kind of vicious attack, we must communicate better through confrontation. I just want to communicate, and sometimes we will encounter huge challenges.

Therefore, for a malicious attack, the one that should be hit head-on must be head-on.

(over)