A symposium was held Thursday afternoon in Nanjing to mark the 80th founding anniversary of Xinhua Daily, the first public newspaper published in the People's Republic of China by the Communist Party of China.
Wang Yanwen, head of the provincial publicity department, spoke highly of the role Xinhua Daily has played when addressing the symposium.
The Xinhua Daily or Xinhua Ribao was a newspaper published by the Communist Party of China in the occupied regions between 1938 and 1947. The first issue was published on January 11, 1938 in Wuhan. The press moved to Chongqing in October and started establishing several branches throughout northern China. The main editor was Zhou Enlai who always chose articles about social matters with the objective to provide guidelines for practical purposes, and, of course, to establish Marxist thought in the minds of the people. The newspaper was thus seen as a representant of the people's voice. It therefore also criticised the ruling Kuomintang Party who shut the production down on February 28, 1947. During the war against Japan and the Civil War the Xinhua Ribao was an important instrument to gain the support of the population living in the territories controlled by the Communists.
Xinhua Newspaper and Media Group, which grows from Xinhua Daily, now has 14 newspapers, 8 journals, 3 news websites, and 6 mobile apps. In 2017 it ranked the world’s top 500 media operators for the fourth consecutive year.
