Educational television and social harmony

Author: Kangning
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-09-01
Features: Theme: The Role and Position of Educational Television in Reflecting and Enhancing National Image and Promoting Soft Power Construction Host: Keeping Pace with the Times and Fulfilling Social Responsibilities. Good day, and welcome to the special program celebrating the 20th anniversary of China Education Television. Today, with the rapid development of global media, China's cultural system reform has achieved unprecedented depth, and China Education Television is celebrating its 20th birthday. As a non-profit educational television station, how can it better define its position and develop in the new environment? How can it better serve the learning society, the development of human resource capabilities, and the establishment of people-oriented education? These have become issues of common concern in the society. To this end, China Education Television has specially organized a series of TV forums for its anniversary titled "Educational Television and Social Harmony." We will invite authoritative experts and scholars from relevant fields, as well as elites from the media industry, to engage in in-depth discussions on related topics. Through the innovative format of academic forums, we aim to build a long-term platform for exploring issues related to educational television and social harmony. This platform will combine the strengths and wisdom of research institutions, experts, and mainstream media from all levels of society to jointly promote the healthy development of China's non-profit educational television stations. Today's forum topic is "Educational Television and National Image Shaping." The first guest we invite today is Professor Ning Siao, Director of the Institute of Public Policy at Peking University and a doctoral supervisor. Let's first listen to his views. Please welcome Professor Ning, and we would like to hear your insights. Ning Siao: National image refers to the impression that a country and its governing body—the government—have in the minds of the public. To use an analogy, if we take a photograph, the person is the government, and the photo is the government's image. For domestic audiences, national image is the government's image, which is a comprehensive impression left by the government's own state and actions on the public. For foreign audiences, national image is the understanding and evaluation that foreign audiences have of a country during international interactions. From this, we can see that national image is formed in two ways: on one hand, it is shaped by the objective conditions of the country and its government; on the other hand, it is influenced by the public's perception and understanding of it. Between these two, there is another role that also plays a significant part in shaping the government's image—this role is the communicator, especially mass media. Therefore, we can consider the nation, the public, and the communicator as the three key elements of national image. National image is a sign of a country's credibility or its strength and quality. For a country and its government, fulfilling governmental functions should be supported by the public. How can we optimize the symbiotic and interactive relationship between a nation or government and its external environment? In international affairs, many countries have a group of national image designers or, as some might call them, "cosmetic artists." The work they do is known as national marketing. Much like a large company promotes its products, these marketers or cosmetic artists believe that a country's primary task is to understand and analyze its own image.