I started my career in print journalism and have worked in the news and communication industry for over 30 years. Among the many sectors disrupted by the rise of the internet and digital technology, traditional journalism was among the first to be thoroughly upended. In Shanghai, a metropolis of over 24 million people, not a single newsstand remains. These kiosks, once a fixture for generations, have completely disappeared. Without newsstands, newspapers lose their ability to reach readers—and thus their viability. In this sense, Shanghai has perhaps taken the global lead in eliminating the print newspaper.
What we are experiencing is a communications revolution, one that has brought several significant changes. At the second World Internet Conference held in Wuzhen in 2015, General Secretary Xi Jinping attended the opening ceremony and delivered a keynote speech. I was fortunate to be there. In his address, he stated: “The principle of sovereign equality established by the UN Charter is a fundamental norm of contemporary international relations; its principles and spirit should also apply to cyberspace.” These words, delivered in front of internet moguls, IT giants, and venture capitalists from around the world, were powerful and clear. That was the first time I encountered the concept of "cyber sovereignty," and it immediately struck me as significant. In the digital realm, the United States had moved swiftly to dominate, and its tech behemoths had monopolized much of the internet. These digital platforms have become colossal forces in cyberspace—so powerful that they, in some respects, even exceed the sovereignty of many nation-states. They wield tremendous power over other countries’ data security, public sentiment, and political orientation—and increasingly, they shape the ideological and spiritual lives of people abroad. But in 2015, it was China—through General Secretary Xi—that first formally introduced the concept of cyber sovereignty and took action accordingly. Today, China is perhaps the only country in the world that has developed digital platforms capable of competing with America’s tech monopolies.
In early 2019, General Secretary Xi Jinping, in his remarks at the 12th collective study session of the Politburo, introduced the concept of “media by all,” identifying it as a new and significant challenge for China’s public communication. With nearly 1.1 billion internet users, China has entered an age where everyone can become a media outlet. Any ordinary person—once merely a newspaper reader—can now possess one or several megaphones spanning multiple platforms. This represented the second major upheaval in the journalism and communication industry.
Thus, the digital revolution in the internet era has brought two unprecedented challenges to our profession. First is the rise of ultra-powerful platforms—so powerful that they transcend traditional notions of sovereignty. These platforms provide services and exert control over the flow of information on a scale far beyond that of traditional media. Second is the phenomenon of “media by all,” where each individual gains media power. This has dismantled the monopoly once held by elite outlets such as newspapers and redistributed media power through digital technologies.
What are the consequences? These massive platforms have essentially replaced the traditional postal system that once distributed newspapers and information products. I often describe them as the new "post office." In the past, newspapers were printed and distributed to households via postal services, which also held all subscriber information. Today, that function has been taken over by platforms like Weibo, WeChat, Douyin, Kuaishou, and Bilibili. They distribute content from both media outlets and individual users through their platform networks to all audiences, while also maintaining full control over dynamic user data. In this sense, platforms have fully assumed the role of the postal system.
When Elon Musk acquired Twitter and rebranded it as X, what kind of power did he gain? Not only does he own his personal account—essentially his own newspaper—through which he broadcasts his views to 200 million followers every day, but he also holds the authority to decide who gets to speak on the platform. Twitter once abruptly shut down Donald Trump’s account with 70 million followers, citing no reason other than: the platform is privately owned, and we no longer wish to provide you access. That’s it. The platform held so much power that it was akin to the post office announcing it would no longer deliver a newspaper—effectively shutting it down. The silencing of Trump sent shockwaves around the world. Then–German Chancellor Angela Merkel condemned the move as “unacceptable,” but it made no difference. Such things cannot happen in China. As a country of socialism with Chinese characteristics, this falls within the realm of national sovereignty. You may own a major digital platform—like Li Yanhong or Zhang Yiming—with legal ownership, commercial value, and managerial rights. But you do not possess the sovereign powers that the platform generates: the handling of user data assets, data security, or the shaping of citizens’ consciousness. These powers belong to the state. Even when exercised by administrative bodies, they must follow due procedures. Of course, more robust regulations and new laws may still be needed. In recent years, China has undertaken a necessary “make-up class” in governing major platforms. The concept of “cyber sovereignty” has deepened our understanding of internet platforms, marking China’s ongoing efforts to modernize internet governance in step with the times, while staying true to the principle of “not blindly copying foreign models.”
Therefore, the theme of today’s forum— “solidarity”—which calls on Global South media to unite against Western digital hegemony, is not sufficient. A foundational strategy must be in place: to build our own platforms. Take Guancha.cn, for example. Though we are a media outlet, we realized as early as 2017 that we also needed to become a platform. We began devoting effort to building one. First, we established a small community platform for our user base, sharing editorial rights so users could become part of our editorial process. Today, we have over 1.7 million real-name registered users from across the globe, who are tightly connected to our platform. Together, we produce content, forming what I call a "super editorial department"—comprising hundreds of thousands of “cognitively engaged participants.” Our content is not simply the product of a few dozen editors sitting in an office, but the result of collaboration with over a million citizen media workers. Our platform has internal mechanisms that elevate high-quality content aligned with our platform’s values and agenda, promoting it to prominent positions. Outstanding contributors gain visibility and build their own followings on Guancha.cn.
We’re grateful to the Shanghai Cyberspace Administration for their timely support, which helped us bring our innovations into compliance and establish a stable, homegrown platform. The influence we’ve cultivated is different from mere traffic volume. On this platform, we know who is reading, who is watching, and who is engaging. We understand why our users follow and support us. They don’t just have accounts on Guancha.cn—they also use platforms like Weibo, WeChat, Twitter, and YouTube. By participating in content curation and community engagement on our platform, their media literacy continues to grow, and their output becomes increasingly professional and influential. Users shape and influence one another, just as they do with our editors. These 1.7 million users help disseminate refined, value-aligned narratives from our platform to broader digital spaces. They can share and fight with others. Their impact far exceeds what any official account alone could achieve. This platform-based model has completely transformed our media practice.
Now look at the European Union: despite comprising so many developed countries, it does not have a single major digital platform of its own. Within less than three weeks of the Russia–Ukraine war breaking out, Europe’s cyberspace was transformed. Any European political figure or public personality who dared to defend Russia, or who merely spoke a few fair and historically grounded words from the standpoint of Europe’s own interests, was subjected to brutal online attacks and faced serious repercussions. This happened because the major platforms used by Europeans are all owned by Americans. These platforms were able to orchestrate a campaign of moral terror against Russia across European cyberspace in just two weeks—without even having to declare wartime control. Former German Chancellors Gerhard Schröder and Angela Merkel, for example, were effectively silenced this way. Without its own digital platforms, the EU has no real cyber sovereignty. Its cyberspace is tragically akin to a digital colony of the United States. (Just imagine: if today’s Arab world had its own sovereign digital platforms, the cries of the people in Gaza would not be so easily drowned out by pro-Israel narratives on Western platforms. Arab netizens would not have their worldview so deeply shaped by Western discourse hegemony. They would not remain confined to isolated individual perspectives, and solidarity would not be so hard to achieve.)
Our editorial department has over 100 staff, but only 10 are needed to operate the platform and serve more than 1.7 million active users—including offline activities where fans engage directly with our editors. Because we’ve opened part of the editorial rights, Guancha.cn now not only has hundreds of thousands or even millions of followers across other platforms, but also a wide alliance of supporters. Our core fans actively engage in other spaces as well, treating Guancha.cn as their basecamp. Some have been contributing content on our platform for two or three years—or even longer—before “graduating” to other venues, while new contributors keep flowing in every year. Guancha.cn operates like an internet university—open 24/7, never closed.
In recent years, Guancha.cn has brought together a large number of high-caliber scholars—such as Professors Jin Canrong, Zhang Weiwei, Shen Yi, and Lu Xinyu—who consistently produce quality content. At the same time, they have a strong sense of the internet and communicate in a down-to-earth, relatable style with netizens, actively shaping and influencing our user base. At the same time, our editors and platform users continuously shape one another through daily interactions: loyal fans often leave high-quality, thoughtful comments beneath each article, and editors respond in kind. This dynamic mechanism of mutual sharing and reciprocal shaping—among scholars, users, and editors; between users and editors; and among users themselves—is what enables a digital media platform to sustain the continuous output of high-quality content and services. It also constitutes the core of how a media platform should function.
In this era of digital revolution, Guancha.cn has been striving to forge a sustainable path for digital media—a model built on always being with our users and fans. What enables that connection is the platform itself. It provides us with a living source of ideas and ensures our editors stay professionally engaged and emotionally attuned. Our work resonates with the real lives and sentiments of everyday people. It is grounded in the public’s common sense and shaped by constant intellectual and emotional engagement online. This approach not only wins us market recognition but also ensures long-term viability. I call this the “super editorial department,” because when it functions well, it holds enormous, multifaceted potential. Over the past decade, Guancha’s cognitive strength and combat capacity in confronting Western discourse hegemony and the entrenched monopoly of conventional online elites—what we call a “people’s cyber warfare”—have primarily derived from this very model.
In recent years, our localized platform strategy has given us confidence in responding to the two major challenges brought about by the internet revolution. In the competition over public influence and the decade-long struggle over discourse, a localized platform strategy, once effective, offers the potential for success across the entire internet. The internet operates dialectically—it is both local and global. A rise at the local level can trigger a rise at the global level. This is why Guancha.cn’s localization strategy has enabled us to build a digital platform with unmatched influence across the broader internet landscape.
Among Chinese media outlets, Guancha.cn and the Global Times are the two most frequently cited by mainstream Western media. Although often labeled “nationalist,” we are not concerned by such tags. As long as they cite us—even glance in our direction—they are already being influenced by us. The reason we are frequently referenced is that we have a strong and loyal following across the Chinese internet. In other words, we possess discursive representativeness, which translates into real influence. That’s why they pay attention to us. It’s no different from why our editorial team keeps an eye on The New York Times—because it holds significant sway in the United States, and its readership has a broad influence. So whatever it says, we pay attention. The same logic applies in reverse: Guancha.cn has an influential user base in China. With such a large number of devoted followers, whenever a major news event occurs, Western mainstream media will look to see “what we have to say.” Even if they stigmatize or label us, we don’t mind. This is precisely what we mean when we speak of a locally grounded platform strategy: drawing energy from a vibrant, organic relationship with our user community. Like fish in the sea, we do not care what others call us—we swim freely in our own waters.
In fact, building such a platform is not costly and requires only modest investment. As long as you can attract enough influential global scholars and dedicated followers, you can create a distinctive platform that shares a degree of autonomy with its users. At Guancha.cn, our editorial staff is small and young, but our scholars and fans come from around the world, representing all ages and walks of life. Across the entire Chinese internet, leading knowledge communities and opinion leaders from various sectors gather here. Thus, a localized platform strategy and the generation of influence across the broader web go hand in hand. Without such a strategy, your media outlet will remain merely an account on someone else’s platform, with your fate controlled by others. For today’s Global South media, without a strategy for localization and without sovereign control of major platforms, your voice and influence will inevitably be confined to the bounds of what Western monopolistic platforms permit. To rely on their benevolence and inclusivity is neither equal dialogue nor true sharing—and certainly not real resistance.