Diplomat author Mercy Kuo regularly attracts subject experts, policy practitioners and strategic thinkers from around the world for their diverse insights into US Asian policy. This conversation with Russell Fuciao – Executive Director of the Global Taiwan Institute, auxiliary fellow at the Pacific Forum, and author of “21st Century Red Tide: CCP Propaganda and United Front” (2025) ranked 450th in the “Trans-Pacific View Insight Series.”
Compare and contrast the objectives, functions and methods of the Chinese Communist Party's Propaganda Department (CPD) and the United Front Work Department (UFWD).
The ultimate purpose of CPD and UFWD is to achieve narrative domination by accumulating “the power of discourse” and acquiring what CCP General Secretary Xi Jinping described as “the struggle for public opinion.” The support goals are two goals. One prong is to promote the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) policy position, and the other is to attenuate and undermine hostile narratives.
There is a big overlap between the objectives and functions of CPD and UFWD. The function of the CPD is to control the narratives communicated through media channels about issues that China's leadership deems important for the benefit of the party state, while the function of the UFWD is to cultivate and mobilize politics domestically and internationally, and to oppose policy.
Both organizations aim to influence individuals and organizations between the political elite, government, media, academic, cultural and civil society spaces. These two organs and their target set were originally more internally focused, but as PRC benefits are expanding globally, they took on a more externally focused orientation. In efforts to undermine hostile narratives, CPD and UFWD methods seek to shape the battle space of information by undermining discrepancies, confusion, cognitive and political cohesion and undermining government resilience towards targeted societies and their propaganda.
It highlights the purpose and influence of CPD and UFWD in Hong Kong and Taiwan.
Taiwan – First among the CCP's “red line” equality, including issues of democracy, human rights and development rights – They fall into unique categories due to their priorities in CPD and UFWD operations. There are similarities between the CPD and UFWD goals and influential activities, as CCPs view the lost territory that they primarily have to be “reintegrated” mainly and under their control. Their objectives towards Hong Kong and Taiwan are similar in that the CCP is trying to block the activities of so-called “separatists” and force them to unite.
CPD and UFWD have influenced activities in Hong Kong and Taiwan and stand out in deep penetration and wide range when compared to other case studies. One distinct distinction is that CCPs enjoy high levels of access in both locations in terms of capital flows and human interactions that allow them to manipulate their impacts.
Explain the purpose and influence of CPD and UFWD in Japan.
Given the historical issues between Japan and China, CCP's propaganda and united front activities towards Japan tend to focus on historical issues, concerns about Japanese militarism, and Taiwan. In addition to activities characterized as traditional intelligence reporting, CCPs often seek to build support and coalitions for Japanese domestic audiences at the elite level and the general public, but they also support anti-Japan and anti-American rhetoric outside of other targets such as Taiwan and South Korea.
CPD and UFWD activities in Japan are more targeted at political and business elites, and the mainstream of society and traditional media tend to have a much more impact on the periphery of society, as Chinese propaganda and unified front-operation permeates. This means that its impact activities may be more effective in rural areas – Like Okinawa – Although it is bordered by local governments, universities in the heart of small-populated cities, and social and religious groups, such impacts have not been thoroughly studied and are difficult to assess.
We examine the purpose and influence of CPD and UFWD in Singapore and Korea.
The purpose and influence of CPD and UFWD are not very different from Singapore and South Korea. Both countries share similar characteristics. Because both are close security partners in the US, they also maintain broad economic and cultural ties with China. Singapore is a majority ethnic nation, and South Korea is a traditional Confident society and an ally of the US treaty. Both politics have traditional constituencies that are more pro-national. The level of success in such activities may vary depending on political regimes and geopolitical conditions.
A general thread is that the CPD and UFWD objectives affect both countries' activities are aimed at undermining the reliability of the US security partners while approaching China's interests for economic reasons and cultural and political affinity. In Korea, there is a unique concentration structure between CPD and UFWD, with significant overlap among people in the network. A review of the vast political activities of CPD and UFWD organizations and their leaders highlights the depth and breadth of their political motivations, and the extent of their penetration into Korean politics.
As a small state with Chinese nationals making up about 74% of the population, national identity is an existential issue in Singapore. In Singapore, the CPD and UFWD use influential clans, business, and cultural exchanges to recruit local political and community elites to support CCP policies. The effectiveness of these measures is controversial, but the recent application of anti-Temal impact measurements underscores the increasing penetration of these efforts into Singaporean society. The PRC also leverages the dependence of local media on the Chinese market to promote Pro-CCP articles and exercise self-censorship.
Access the Beijing agenda behind the CPD and the activities of UFWD in these US allies and partners, affecting US influence in the Indo-Pacific region.
Contrary to the perception that CPD and UFWD are focused on Taiwan, CCP propaganda and United front activities present a vast agenda highlighting the global ambitions of party nations.
In addition to the CCP's purpose of restructuring the global order and making its development path safer, the common thread that reaches all case studies aims to make these countries and their people more align with the interests of the PRC and undermine the reliability of the US. If these activities are left unanswered, it could have a serious impact on our interest in the area.
