Tucker Wang-Hai is a PhD candidate in communication and a research fellow at the Center for Journalism, Media, and Democracy at the University of Washington. His research focuses on international journalism, digital news production, Chinese foreign-aimed media, and Chinese soft power (particularly in Southeast Asia). He was a visiting scholar at the Thai–Chinese Strategic Research Center, National Research Council of Thailand, in the spring of 2023.

Digital Hope or Digital Trap?

Understanding China’s Waixuan Jizhe (Foreign-Aimed Journalists) in the Internet Age

While the Chinese Government bans most popular foreign social media services, it does not underestimate the strategic role of these networked technologies, particularly their potential to strengthen China’s communication with the world. In recent years, leveraging foreign social media platforms has become a common practice in the foreign-aimed reporting sector in China. This essay explores how Chinese foreign-aimed journalists—individuals who are expected to use and normalise foreign platforms at work—navigate a changing work environment as their journalistic practices and traditional routines are increasingly platform-based and digitally oriented.

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