An Analysis Of The Usis Hong Kong’s "China Reporting Program" (1955-1970)

The China Reporting Program led by the USIS Hong Kong was an important tool of United States’ anti-China propaganda in the early Cold War.In 1955,against the backdrop of a reassessment by USIS Hong Kong of the status of overseas Chinese propaganda and a heightened sense of crisis in the United States about the expanding “Chinese threat,” the China Reporting Program was created in Hong Kong,and the United States began to produce and build up English-language propaganda materials,including books and pamphlets,news and feature,the academic journal Current Scene,research materials and broadcasts in Hong Kong,its “Chinese materials producing center”.The purpose of the China Reporting Program is to counter the propaganda of the Chinese Communist Party worldwide through a variety of media,and to influence public opinion and political decisions in their countries by delivering “corrective” information about China to the elite.In the process,USIS Hong Kong attempted to make a significant shift from a regional “Chinese service center” to a global “hub of anti-China propaganda” through its China Reporting Program.However,with the decline of China Reporting Program in the late 1960 s,it failed to play a fundamental role in advancing the U.S.Cold War strategy,and the propaganda ambitions of the USIS Hong Kong were ultimately defeated.The failure of the China Reporting Program stems from a combination of internal and external factors,with important adjustments in U.S.relations with China and foreign propaganda being the root cause of its failure,and the mismatch between U.S.intentions and capabilities in operating the China Reporting Program being the internal cause of its ultimate failure.