ABC to give ‘soft-sell’ China website the chop

The ABC is moving to shut down a website criticised for complying with Beijing’s censorship requirements.

 

The ABC is moving to shut down a website that has been criticised for complying with Beijing’s censorship requirements and running soft stories on the Australia-China relationship.

The Australian has confirmed the Australia Plus websites are set to be closed, including the Man­darin-language version of the site.

In 2015, the ABC partnered with Chinese media company the Shanghai Media Group to set up the China-focused version of the website, but since its establishment it has been the target of criticism over claims it removed content critical of China from news stories.

The website is visible to Chinese citizens, subject to the “great firewall”, and the move to close the site could mean the end of the deal with Shanghai Group.

The ABC is also reviewing its overseas broadcasting and recently surveyed audiences about their thoughts on a new overseas broadcasting channel, which may be to rebrand their Australia Plus TV Service.

In 2016, Media Watch reported that facts were removed from a ­report on the australiaplus.cn site about a visit by Malcolm Turnbull to China.

It said critical stories available elsewhere on the ABC also were not translated for the australiaplus.cn site. At the time, academic John Fitzgerald also accused the ABC of selling out on its news values to get access to China

“The ABC’s silence launched a new era of ABC Chinese-language programming in which there is no room for general news or current affairs or any commentary likely to give offence to the Central Propaganda Bureau of the Chinese Communist Party,” said Professor Fitzgerald of Swinburne University.

Last week a pop-up banner appeared on the Australia Plus website announcing its closure.

“The Australia Plus web services will soon be closing. To keep up to date with the latest news from Australia and the region, visit News World and follow us on social at Facebook,” the banner reads.

An ABC spokesman said there was no final date for the site’s official closure, which was part of a wider review.

“The Australia Plus announcement was made following a wider review by the ABC of its digital products and services,” the spokesman said.

There was no announcement on the ABC media centre, however.

The ABC previously has said the website was not designed as “hard news” and was about engaging regional audiences with Australia.

The ABC opened a Mandarin-language news service in February last year, carrying a variety of harder news stories.

In 2014, the Coalition withdrew funding for the ABC’s Australia Network, after the previous Labor government awarded the ABC the 10-year contract in 2011 over News Corp’s Sky News.

Advocacy group ABC Friends recently said the ABC had been conducting a survey about overseas broadcasting.

“The ABC is promoting a survey on social media, asking audiences their opinions on a new overseas broadcasting channel, in spite of the closure by the Abbott/Turnbull government of the Australia Network, and diminution of Radio Australia,” the group said on its website.

“The survey asks participants everything from what they think about the idea, to helping to choose a name and logo.”