Visiting In Public And Competing In Secret:the Delegation Of Chinese And Foreign Journalists Visiting Northwest China And The Propaganda Competing Between The KMT And The CPC

In1944the delegation of Chinese and foreign journalists visiting Northwest China, was an important and sensational news in1940’s Chongqing news and political circles, but also an important political events which has great influence on the relationship between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party. Since1939, the press first broke the Kuomintang government’s blockade on the Border Region in five years. The Chinese Communist Party who in1943～1944years although has been got rid of various difficulties, but to continue to development, need to expand the development space outside in order to obtain external support and assistance, which the Kuomintang unwilling to see. Then, the delegation of reporters gave rise to a propaganda war between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party.The Kuomintang and the Communist Party launching to the Chinese and foreign press corps a propaganda competition, from a certain angle, was a contest between the government and the challenger for the discourse of the CPC legitimacy. In1930～1940, China was a country who had a majority of the population of the middle class. In this kinds of country, it was important both for the Kuomintang and the Communist Party to compete the news media discourse in order to win the large population of middle class’ support. Especially for the CPC, who has a poor rank to the Communist Party in the political status, it was better to win the support from the neutral media to expand the propaganda than simply relying on its own strength to carry out publicity.In the competition of political discourse, both sides want the right of discourse of some political symbols such as anti-Japan battle, democracy, unity, witch were some of practical value or moral significance and may condense mass power and enhance the strength of controlling politic, through leading the Chinese and foreign reporters attention to the contest of those political symbols. The Kuomintang want this discourse force of public opinion to attack the Communist Party in order to limit its development and growth. And the CPC want to defend itself with this discourse force and to expand the development space outside at that time. Therefore, during the Chinese and foreign journalists visiting process, both sides tried their best to control the public opinion about the CPC by controlling the interview agenda and the news report.From the neutral journalists’ reports, all of them had a good impression for the Border Region, and approved the CPC governance and their military exploits to Japan. These reports caused the change of public opinion about the CPC and the KMT at home and abroad, witch had some advantage for the CPC, and reduced the wide gap of mastery of the right of discourse between the KMT and the CPC, witch brought different influence on the Kuomintang and the Communist Party. The CPC began gradually get rid of the passive dilemma of public opinion and expanded their communication space; while the Kuomintang began gradually lose the right of discourse about the CPC and fall into a passive situation in the public opinion at domestic and abroad, witch showed the result of this propaganda competition between the KMT and the CPC.Although the role of the news media in the struggle between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party was not as important as military struggle witch may directly determine the success or failure, nor as political or economic struggle, however, it was a catalyst for other forms of struggle. It should not be a simple coincidence that in1944two different cases almost happened at the same time, witch one was the great change of the attack-defense political situation between the Kuomintang and the Communist Party as scholars generally believe, and another was the press corps’ visit to the northwest China. In addition, in the news media propaganda competition, as the political status was extremely unequal between the KMT and the CPC, the KMT’s ability of controlling politics, who was in much superior, determined the role and the effect of news media and the catalysis of the propaganda competition in the political competition and conflict witch was unequal to the KMT and the CPC.