Sail across the sea

How effective will Chapter 525 be?

“The funding will be entirely provided by our company until the publication can be self-sufficient.”

Gao Fan immediately dispelled Yuan Xiaoyan's doubts.

Yuan Xiaoyan smiled and said, "Then I thank President Gao for his generous help. However, there's no such thing as a free lunch. Why would you provide funding for me to start a publication?"

"Do you remember that series of articles about rare earth elements that I asked you to organize back then?"

"Of course I remember, that was the first pot of gold I made."

"I'm not talking about the funding I gave you, but the articles you wrote."

“I remember. Weren’t those articles all stories written by Editor-in-Chief Gao? It was from that incident that I truly understood what it meant to use literature to disrupt the law. A few small stories actually influenced national policy, and I heard that they even directly hit Japan’s rare earth industry. It was truly an astonishing move.”

"Would you like to keep doing this kind of thing?"

"Mr. Gao, I am a journalist with a conscience."

“It won’t affect your conscience,” Gao Fan said, then his teasing expression faded as he continued, “I’m serious. You just said that our society is undergoing dramatic changes. The impact of these changes will not be limited to domestic society but will affect the whole world. In the coming decades, China’s rise will reshape the world map, and we will face a major transformation unseen in a century.”

"In this process, all kinds of social trends will emerge, and all sorts of voices will appear in the public sphere. If we want to do things without interference, we must have our own mouthpiece. Even if we don't dominate public opinion, we must at least play a role in countering all kinds of negative influences."

"Are you trying to fool me again?" Yuan Xiaoyan asked with a hint of doubt. "I'm not as naive as I was back in school. Your sensationalist words won't work on me."

“But you still believed it, didn’t you?” Gao Fan said confidently.

"I only half believed it."

Yuan Xiaoyan had to admit that, as a Peking University student, this kind of grand narrative was quite impactful. Gao Fan's impassioned speech had really stirred her blood.

"The publication you mentioned, is it the mouthpiece you want?" Yuan Xiaoyan asked.

Gao Fan said, "At least it's part of the mouthpiece, depending on how well you can make this publication."

Yuan Xiaoyan asked, "The country has so many major media outlets, all of which are mouthpieces, and their influence is definitely much greater than that of private publications. How much of an impact can you have if you start your own publication?"

Gao Fan shook his head: "The limitations of state media are too great. There are some things that private publications can say, but state media cannot say, otherwise it will cause all kinds of controversy. Look at the supplements of various media now, they are generally more outspoken than the main publications, and some even have more influence than the main publications."

Yuan Xiaoyan mentally reviewed the domestic media and nodded slightly to indicate her agreement with Gao Fan's statement.

Many major media outlets, whether due to restrictions imposed by propaganda discipline or a lack of open-mindedness on their editors-in-chief, present news reports or commentaries in a rigid, overly formal manner, often with a strong propaganda tone that the general public is unwilling to read.

Those supplements that separated from major media outlets were much more active, with headlines that were more sensational than the last, and articles that were a mix of humor and satire, with vivid writing that was very popular with readers.

Especially several newspaper supplements in the south, which championed public opinion supervision and were known for their willingness to expose wrongdoing, frequently addressed social hotspots and responded to public concerns, becoming de facto opinion leaders in the public sphere. Many people preferred to believe their reports rather than those of traditional major newspapers. Thinking about this, Yuan Xiaoyan raised a new question: "Since there are already so many influential supplements, what's the point of starting another publication?"

"The point is to go against these supplements," Gao Fan said with a smile.

"Playing a competing game?" Yuan Xiaoyan asked, somewhat puzzled.

Gao Fan asked, "Do you remember that article about rare earth elements?"

"...Didn't we just ask that question?"

"I've already asked, and you can answer again. Think about it, what's the difference between your article and those articles in those inspirational magazines?"

"The difference is still quite significant. Their articles genuinely praise Japan. But the article I wrote, or more precisely, the idea you provided, is ostensibly praising but actually criticizing. On the surface, it praises Japanese companies for their foresight, but in reality, it's reminding the country to be wary of the sinister intentions of the Japanese. The starting points of the two are completely different."

At this point, Yuan Xiaoyan began to understand Gao Fan's intentions and finally realized that Gao Fan's suggestion was not a spur-of-the-moment decision, but rather had a long-term purpose.

Gao Fan said: "Our country is moving towards a full-fledged market economy. Once the negotiations on resuming GATT progress, the degree of internationalization will be greatly improved, and we will face a pattern of full opening up to the outside world."

"Under these circumstances, how to ensure that the country's fundamental interests are not harmed and how to prevent the country from being led astray like the former Soviet Union is a very important issue."

"Many major media outlets in China today, even if they are not politically detached, are at least severely lacking in their ability to guide public opinion in the right direction. Meanwhile, most emerging supplement-type media outlets lean towards liberal ideology and advocate for complete Westernization."

"And those inspirational magazines, which endlessly praise foreign countries and belittle China, make you feel that you would be doing a disservice to your higher education if you didn't become a traitor."

Yuan Xiaoyan burst out laughing, but after laughing, she had to admit that Gao Fan's words were true.

She thought of her colleagues in the office, who always liked to talk about how great "foreign countries" were, and when it came to China, they always said it was worthless.

Sometimes, even when it's a negative event happening abroad, people still interpret it as positive. At the very least, they'll say something like, "Look how free the news is in foreign countries. Would we dare to report something like this?" And then it naturally turns into a critique of the system.

She even thought that the reason why some of her colleagues' articles reflecting the mainstream ideology were so dull and tedious, making people want to stay away, was precisely because these colleagues themselves were full of disdain for the country. For them, writing articles was just a task to be completed.

If you don't love it at all, how can you possibly write with passion?

How did this situation arise?

Yuan Xiaoyan couldn't understand it. It seemed that everything happened naturally. The articles she read and the classes she attended were subtly teaching her to despise this country and to admire the so-called "civilized world" on the other hemisphere.

The more knowledge one has, the less patriotic one becomes. So, is the problem with the country, or is the problem with the knowledge one is exposed to?

(End of this chapter)