May 2, 2018
Private technology firms in China are being drawn closer to the Chinese Communist Party across a range of technological development initiatives — from self-driving cars to social credit scoring, from voice and facial recognition to satellite navigation. At the same time, the Party is being introduced more forcefully into technology firms themselves. Zhong and Mozur deal with this latter aspect toward the end of their piece, noting how this is visible at the Shenzhen headquarters of Tencent, China’s largest technology firm:
A chart on the wall shows how many employees are party members (more than 8,000 this year). Another display lists the monthly schedule for employees’ party education. (This month’s offering: training sessions on “New Era, New Thought, New Journey.”)
Tencent’s mascot, a jaunty winking penguin, appears throughout with a hammer and sickle on its chest.
Concerning information controls, Xi said, according to Xinhua News Agency: “Internet media should spread positive information, uphold the correct political direction, and guide public opinion and values towards the right direction.”
http://chinamediaproject.org/2018/05/02/tech-firms-tilt-toward-the-party/