Journalists for the Associated Press are on a mission to convince readers that China is pro-Christmas, while universities across the nation continue to tell students that this is a “foreign” holiday and ex-pats are told it is not recognized in China.
It’s true that some colleges in China have in the past few years told students not to hold Christmas events (as they are deemed “foreign”).
But insinuating that Christmas trees are banned in China is just silly. pic.twitter.com/R07Q3aPmOM
— Dake Kang (@dakekang) December 12, 2021
Christmas is not a public holiday in China and the Chinese Communist Party aggressively oppresses Christianity. Any celebrations that do occur on or around December 25th have little actual religious affiliation. Instead, the focus is on consumerism.
As recently as 2018 and 2019, members of the international press reported that many Chinese cities are “cracking down” on Christmas celebrations. Cities, schools, and government institutions frequently order citizens to not celebrate Christmas at all.
But writers like Dake Kang at the Associated Press seemed desperate to claim otherwise.
In a bizarre reply thread to National Pulse reporter Natalie Winters, Kang made a number of attempts to minimize the oppression of Christianity by the Chinese Communist Party.
His actions can be compared to those of the New York Times during the late 1930s, as told in the book Buried by the Times.
I took this picture in Beijing three weeks ago. (Yes, even in Beijing, Christmas carols seem to begin before Thanksgiving is over) https://t.co/22OvMdHwEh pic.twitter.com/MCeDhuO7pq
— Dake Kang (@dakekang) December 12, 2021
Kang appears to have confused Ms. Winters’s tweet about triggering CCP dictator Xi Jinping using a picture of her and National Pulse editor Raheem Kassam with the backdrop of the Trump International Hotel in Washington, D.C. Instead, Kang thought Ms. Winters was talking about a Christmas tree in the background.
This appeared to trigger Kang himself, leading to a deluge of angry tweets from far-left activists who used the opportunity to attack the young female reporters’ appearance.
By your taste in footwear? https://t.co/Hmr9XuBMKu pic.twitter.com/n3V4C33mpp
— Q (@Qban_Linx) December 12, 2021
Andray Domise – a far-left Canadian activist who once pleaded guilty following domestic disturbance allegations by an ex-girlfriend – posted memes glorifying Xi while encouraging his followers to dress more like him.
Kang often retweets stories with content that push rhetoric directly from the CCP, such as a recent article about Chinese youth being “westernized, but not pro-democracy.” The spin in this work and Kang’s Twitter feed is commonplace amongst journalists working from and for Chinese-run news outlets.
Others, such as Channel News Asia’s Tom McGregor, frequently run CCP commentary under the guise of personal opinion. McGregor published a story on Christmas Day, 2018, where he pleaded with readers that China “doesn’t deserve its bad rep over Christmas.”
McGregor has also retweeted various Christmas posts to his social media, while misspelling “Christmas”.
Almost ready for Christmas! 🎄
The busiest time of the year in Santa Claus Village! Just 10 days left until Santa Claus sets off for his annual journey around the world from Rovaniemi Lapland Finland!#rovaniemi #chirstmas #SantaClaus pic.twitter.com/K5TQLVE0Jf
— Visit Rovaniemi (@VisitRovaniemi) December 13, 2021
AP China and other Chinese-affiliated outlets continue to push their narrative of events surrounding Christmas, despite the national ban, along with spin related to other major news stories.
Ensuring their journalists follow the same rhetoric is part of the CCP’s work in maintaining an image of China to the rest of the world.
