CCP Operates Parliamentarians to propagate Beijing’s Narrative on Tibet in Italy, Study Reveals

Photo courtesy-Synopsis and Global Committee for the Rule of Law “Marco Pannella” (GCRL).

A latest study on CCP influence agencies and their operations in Italy revealed propagating “new Tibet” as a key area of focus, inter-alia, towards Beijing’s efforts in co-opting Italian parliamentarians and politicians.

The detailed analysis on CCP influence operations to shape Italian politics, policy and public opinions illustrated CCP’s International Liaison Department and other influence organs’ effort to gain friendly “partner group” and “receiver of Tibet-themed propaganda” in the parliament.

The study jointly published by Sinopsis and Italy based Global Committee for the Rule of Law “Marco Pannella” (GCRL), titled “Hijacking the mainstream: CCP Influence agencies and their operations in Italian Parliamentary and local politics”, provided an overview of the CCP’s key actors: The CCP International Liaison Department (ILD); the Chinese Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries (CPAFFC); the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT), as well as units in the party’s propaganda and united front systems and fronts linked to intelligence agencies, efforts to co opt parliamentarians, political parties, officials (national, municipal to provincial level) and mainstream voices in think tanks and the media in Italy.

The case study in point, CCP influence in Italian parliament sketched Italy-China Parliamentary Friendship Association, also referred to as the Friends of China Association, frequent trips to Tibet, a region China effectively denied unfettered access to international independent observers. “The Italian delegations have been taken to Tibetan areas, explicitly asked to relay party propaganda on its rule in Tibet, and hoped the association would “introduce the real, developing new Tibet to persons from various sectors in Italy and Europe”, revealed the study.

The study further indicated that the “Friendship Association” visits to Tibet can be traced back to as early as 2008, a year China violently crushed Tibetan’s peaceful demonstrations that spread across Tibet.

Using politicians, lobbyists and consultants, CCP exerts its influence to help normalize CCP’s totalitarian rule and global expansion, the study explained.

Full Study report is available here.