China’s Propaganda and Censorship Tactics Examined in Expert Roundtable

Congressional Committee to Host Expert Roundtable on Chinese Communist Party’s Media Control Tactics

A bipartisan congressional committee will convene a roundtable discussion next week focused on examining the Chinese Communist Party’s strategies for propaganda and censorship, bringing together specialists from leading organizations focused on press freedom and international affairs.

The Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party announced that Chairman Mike Gallagher, Republican of Wisconsin, and Ranking Member Raja Krishnamoorthi, Democrat of Illinois, will co-host the event on Wednesday, September 13. The session, scheduled to run from 2:30 to 4:00 PM at the U.S. Capitol Building, signals ongoing congressional interest in understanding China’s information control apparatus.

Three prominent experts will share insights during the discussion: Sarah Cook, who serves as Senior Advisor for China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan at the democracy watchdog organization Freedom House; Dr. Matthew Johnson, a visiting fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution and Research Director at Garnaut Global; and Bay Fang, President of Radio Free Asia, a U.S. government-funded news organization that broadcasts in Asian languages.

The roundtable comes amid heightened tensions between Washington and Beijing, with information control and media influence emerging as key battlegrounds in the increasingly complex U.S.-China relationship. The Chinese government has faced international criticism for its sophisticated censorship system, often referred to as the “Great Firewall,” which blocks foreign websites and controls domestic online content.

In recent years, concerns have grown about China’s expanding global media footprint, with state-run outlets establishing operations worldwide while simultaneously restricting foreign journalists’ access within China. The CCP has also developed sophisticated social media influence operations and pressured international companies and organizations to adhere to its political sensitivities.

Freedom House, where panelist Sarah Cook serves as an advisor, consistently ranks China among the world’s most restrictive media environments in its annual press freedom index. Cook has extensively documented how Beijing’s censorship extends beyond China’s borders through economic pressure and other means.

Radio Free Asia, led by participant Bay Fang, faces particular challenges in reaching audiences in China and other authoritarian Asian states where governments actively block its broadcasts and websites. The organization frequently reports on human rights issues, religious persecution, and political developments that state-controlled media in target countries typically suppress.

Dr. Johnson brings academic expertise on China’s propaganda apparatus, which has evolved significantly under President Xi Jinping’s leadership to embrace new technologies while maintaining traditional controls over information flow.

The Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, formed in January 2023 with bipartisan support, represents one of Washington’s institutional responses to what many U.S. policymakers view as Beijing’s increasingly assertive global posture. The committee has a broad mandate to investigate issues ranging from economic competition to military threats to human rights concerns.

Wednesday’s session will be open to media representatives, though advance registration is required. The committee will also stream the proceedings on its social media channels and official website, making the discussion available to a wider audience.

As relations between the world’s two largest economies continue to face strains across multiple fronts, this congressional examination of China’s information control tactics underscores how media and messaging have become central to what many describe as a new era of strategic competition between democratic and authoritarian governance models.