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control of a foreign government, not simply a foreign individual or firm. Second,
the diminishing space within America’s Chinese-language media for independent
voices runs counter to the goals of a liberal society seeking a diversity of perspectives.
Furthermore, the PRC’s control of Chinese-language media outlets in America and
its increasingly strong position among English-language outlets provides China
with the potential of mobilizing Chinese Americans and Americans alike to espouse
policies counter to US interest. The constant drumbeat of anti-American reporting
in pro-Beijing media outlets headquartered in the United States creates an unhealthy
environment.

Promoting Transparency

A major challenge is the fact that China has worked successfully to mask its influence
operations with respect to US media. On paper, for example, the Asian Culture and
Media Group controls the pro-China SinoVision and Qiaobao as a private company.
The reality is that it is staffed by people who served the state-run China News Service
and were, sources insist, dispatched to the United States by the Chinese government
to establish propaganda operations in the United States. Given its nominal status
as a private company, taking action to shut down its operations would be fraught
with even more legal and ethical challenges than those involving media corporations
directly owned by the PRC. The same holds true for publications and websites that
were once independent but have now increasingly fallen under the sway of the PRC. If
US law protects the rights of publishers of newspapers or websites to put their personal
political imprint on their enterprises, how can the US government move to deny it to
those of a pro-PRC bent?

At a minimum, what US authorities can do is work to establish the real ownership
structure of Chinese (and other foreign) companies purchasing US-based media. Any
foreign-owned or foreign-controlled media (including print media), and particularly
those that advance a foreign government line, should be required to register under the
Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA).

Beyond FARA, there should also be a review to see whether these organizations and
their employees should also register under existing lobbying laws as foreign agents.
In addition, there is an argument to be made to ensure that employees of these
organizations should be given a disclosure package making them aware that they are
working for a foreign agent institution.

Media

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