CCTV FOLLIES July 9 12PM
The 11 AM news cycle oddly omits any mention of Japan, but the international coverage does include a long section on Ukraine, giving some voice to the Ukraine side. It doubles down on US for weapons dumping.
News 30 will give the firmest report on Abe to date because they now have correct guidance from the top.
The leader has spoken.
Adopting a reverential style similar to North Korean news broadcasters, CCTV's Wen Jing reads from the text in hand to quote the great leader:
She says Xi Jinping expresses his condolences. He lauds Abe's unstinting efforts at improving Sino-Japanese relations. Both countries hope for peaceful, constructive relations. He and his wife Peng Liyuan extend condolences to Abe's wife, Akie.
The shocking attack on Abe is recounted with Japanese TV footage.
A close up on the Japan's former Prime Minister moments before he was shot
the shooting...
apprehending the gunman who carried a homemade gun
The hospital where he was rushed by helicopter and pronounced dead after excessive loss of blood
CCTV repeats the the positive highlights of Abe's political tenure. Born in Yamaguchi Prefecture in 1954,
etc, etc....but photos and any reference to his grandfather Kishi Nobusuke is omitted this time.
instead the focus is on his repeated electoral successes
He is treated respectfully and positively, like a friend of China.
The trick to watching Chinese news is to focus on what they're not showing.
CCTV coverage of arch-rival Abe's assassination is a case in point. They dithered for a day until Xi expressed condolences, and then dropped the topic. News from Japan is focused on Abe legacy issues such as amending the Peace Constitution but does not make any reference to Abe.
China is nervous about Abe's legacy, his revisionism, his recent statements of support for Taiwan and his willingness to stand up to Chinese bullying, so it's easier to erase him from the news, even when he IS the news.
CCTV's "news heavy" 7 AM news slot has half an hour of reports on pressing international topics such as how US military aid to Ukraine is fueling the flames of the fire, and then at 7:34 there is a three-minute segment on the assassination of Shinzo Abe, his life and death.
CCTV reporter Niu Lu in Nara watches the hearse carrying Abe start its journey to Tokyo #abe#cctv#nara#tokyo
There is a brief standup in front of Nara police station where a police press conference is taking place
CCTV FOLLIES: July 9 early morning news
The 6 o'clock news cycle has NO news from Japan.
Instead, international news starts with Ukraine (really about Russia) leading with the usual Russian Defense Ministry footage
There's other big international story in UK, where crowds shout "step down" and Boris Johnson's tenure comes to an end.
Another big story is from the little man at the big table.
Putin tells the Duma he's not against negotiation but the longer it is delayed, the harder it will get
CCTV FOLLIES: June 2
Domestic Update: In China, everything's coming up roses.
Which is propaganda, but nicer to watch than the international news this day which is entirely devoted to bolstering Russia's amoral and evil invasion of Ukraine.
UKRAINE SITUATION leads off with Putin's press secretary Peshkov doing all the talking.