Beijing Youth Daily
A few days ago, the National Development and Reform Commission issued a statement saying that a person named "Zhou Zhijun" posed as the head of the office of the Leading Group for the Construction of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and participated in social activities many times. An investigation by a reporter from Beijing Youth Daily found that the person's other title is the chairman of the board of directors of the "Phoenix News Agency", and the organization established in 2016 has repeatedly carried out activities in the name of the news unit. However, the agency's only two journalists do not hold press cards. According to the evidence provided by Sun Xun, the news agency's director, in a lawsuit with Phoenix Satellite TV, the agency not only accepts 30,000 yuan of monthly advertising, but also mainly to collect franchise fees and other ways to make profits, and now has branches in dozens of provinces such as Shanxi, Shaanxi, Hubei and other provinces in China, and foreign Thailand, France, Italy and other places, and each branch charges hundreds of thousands of yuan in franchise fees. Previously, Phoenix News Agency lost the lawsuit against Phoenix Group in trademark infringement and unfair competition, and was awarded 5 million yuan in damages. At present, the institution's major shareholder, Sun Xun, has become a dishonest executor. But the agency is still in normal operations.
statement
The "chairman of the board" had an accident
The Phoenix news agency cleared up the relationship
On May 21, the official website of the National Development and Reform Commission published a "Statement" from the Office of the Leading Group for the Construction of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, saying that recently some people, in the name of Zhou Zhijun, posed as the head of the Office of the Leading Group for the Construction of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, and participated in social activities many times as the so-called "Director of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area Construction and Investment Steering Committee". It is hoped that the relevant parties will increase their vigilance and avoid being deceived. If losses have been caused, please report the case clues to the public security department in a timely manner.
The Beijing Youth Daily reporter found that in addition to "Zhou Zhijun" participating in the activities in the above-mentioned capacity many times, his other "identity" also includes "chairman of the board of directors of the Phoenix News Agency".
After the "Zhou Zhijun" accident, the Phoenix News Agency also issued a "statement" on May 22. The statement said that recently, it was found that some people went out to participate in social activities in the name of "Phoenix News Agency" without the consent of the leaders of the Phoenix News Agency. Any liability accident will bear all legal responsibilities. In the past, the head office has repeatedly published a statement on the Internet that anyone who participates in any organization or any activity in the name of phoenix news agency must have the consent of the head office to issue a certificate letter that is valid within 7 days, otherwise it is a personal act, and he bears all the consequences and has nothing to do with the company. Another "Authorization Document" of 2020 No. 0318 was revoked for "the authorized person acting in violation of the law".
Confirmation
No such institution was identified
Phoenix News Agency is not an accredited media
According to the "Phoenix News Agency" self-introduction, the Phoenix News Agency is a legal news media organization registered with the Hong Kong government in 2010, with multiple fields and departments such as the Internet, video, magazines, mobile live broadcast platforms, film and television production, and business operations. At present, Phoenix News Agency has signed long-term strategic cooperation agreements with hundreds of mainstream media such as state-level media, overseas media, international media networks, television stations, newspapers, magazines, etc., and has carried out direct business contacts with financial experts from hundreds of well-known enterprises at home and abroad.
Open this website, you can see that the content is mostly about current politics, commentary, and its columns include: important news, news investigation, Fengtong short commentary, the Belt and Road Initiative, etc. However, the "news agency'" reports are mainly quoted from the official media, especially in current political reports, and there are few self-collected reports except for the citations of official agency articles. For example, the header of "Supporting Private Enterprises to Participate in Major National Strategies" is "Phoenix News Agency to Economic Daily News", "China's imports and exports in the first four months increased by 28.5% year-on-year" the head is "Phoenix News Agency to Xinhua News Agency Weibo News", and a report about a calligrapher's work is "Phoenix News Agency News", but the author is not signed as a journalist.
So, is this media a regular institution registered in Hong Kong and operating in China? On the "China Journalist Association Network", you can inquire about the "Latest List of Hong Kong and Macao Media Resident Mainland Correspondent Stations and Resident Journalists", of which the Hong Kong media have 25 certified media such as "South China Morning Post", Phoenix Satellite TV, Hong Kong China Review News Agency, etc., and the Phoenix News Agency is not listed.
According to the Phoenix News Agency, it has cooperated with the State Council's 'Belt and Road' Chinese Enterprises Going Global Office to guide Chinese enterprises to the high-end market; it has also signed a contract with the "China Railway Construction" of central enterprises to carry out project cooperation in more than 100 countries around the world. However, the Beiqing Daily reporter found that there is a "'going out' public service platform" under the Ministry of Commerce, but there is no above-mentioned declared institution. On the official website of China Railway Construction, there is no news of cooperation with the Phoenix News Agency.
fact
"Phoenix News Agency" is just a limited company
The contact person is a minority shareholder
On May 22, a reporter from the Online Inquiry Center of the Hong Kong Companies Registry's official website, Beiqing Daily, inquired that the company registration record of "Phoenix News Agency Co., Ltd." has a corresponding number, and the current status is "current" and "still registered", but the "Hong Kong Phoenix News Agency Limited" and "Phoenix News Agency" claimed by it are displayed as no records.
According to the data of the Department of Industry and Commerce, the operating body of Phoenix News Agency in China is "Phoenix Jiayi (Beijing) Culture media Co., Ltd.", which was established in 2016 with a registered capital of 118 million yuan, and the legal representative was previously Sun Xun, which was changed to Sun Duoyi in November 2020, and the two are all shareholders of the company, with a shareholding ratio of 90% and 10% respectively. At present, Sun Duoyi serves as the executive director and manager of the company. In addition, the information of "Phoenix News Agency Co., Ltd." shows that this is a company registered in Hong Kong, Sun Xun's shareholding ratio is 99.21%, and Jiang Xiaojing, Wu Guoquan and other shareholders hold 0.40% of the shares.
"Phoenix Communication Network" Sun Duoyi and Sun Xun's personal data
Sun Xun, president of the "Phoenix News Agency"
According to a person who does the intermediary work of the registered company in Hong Kong, it is not difficult to register a company in Hong Kong, the operator only needs to provide simple information to register a company, the registered capital of the company does not need to be verified from HK$10,000, and generally one to two working days can receive a full set of information.
In fact, the Phoenix News Agency often uses the cooperation of CCTV and state agencies to carry out propaganda. It is reported that the business premises of the operating entity of the Phoenix News Agency, "Phoenix Jiayi Company", are registered as "Beijing CCTV (No. 11 Fuxing Road, Haidian District) Media Center Block B", which is intriguing.
Some insiders said that the Phoenix News Agency undertakes all kinds of advertising, and the quotation is only 30,000 yuan per month, and it can be advertised. According to one of its "advertising business charging standards", the publication of manuscripts on the website of the Phoenix News Agency, the insertion of advertisements by the Phoenix Communication Network, the monthly magazine advertisements, the special advertisements of graphic advertisements, the live broadcast of conference videos, video advertisements, large-scale special reports of magazines, CCTV "Integrity China" TV interview programs, movies, TV series, documentaries, etc. need to pay advertising fees of varying prices.
In some advertising channels of the Phoenix News Agency, there are corresponding mobile phone numbers and WeChat numbers, and the Beiqing Daily reporter tried to contact each other, but did not connect. However, when trying to add friends, I saw that the names of multiple WeChat numbers of the other party were "Sun Duoyi".
Imposters
Opening of "branches" in many parts of the world
The franchise fee is priced at hundreds of thousands of yuan
"Phoenix News Agency is another news media organization after the birth of Phoenix Tv and Phoenix Network of Phoenix Group," Phoenix News Agency wrote in its introduction. In fact, this agency has been fraudulently using the name of Phoenix Group to conduct media activities.
In a previous public event, Sun Xun once said: "Phoenix News Agency and Phoenix Satellite TV belong to the Phoenix Group, they are doing their own thing, and they are responsible for each other's own profits and losses... Phoenix News Agency in China is equivalent to Xinhua News Agency, Phoenix Satellite TV is equivalent to CCTV; the company's network business refers to the 'Phoenix Communication Network', an annual profit of more than 1 million, and the branch to undertake conference business, each meeting profit of one or two hundred thousand; a branch of the franchise fee of hundreds of thousands. ”
The Beiqing Daily reporter found that in addition to Beijing, the Phoenix News Agency currently has branches in Shanxi, Shaanxi, Zhejiang, Chongqing, Hubei, Henan, Hunan and other provinces. In 2018, Phoenix News Agency also held an international branch awarding ceremony in Thailand, and established branches in 13 countries including France, Britain, Germany and Italy.
The Beiqing Daily reporter saw that the webpage of "Phoenix News Agency - Shanxi" was very exquisite, and the column section was divided into: today's headlines, current political news, Shanxi information, hot spot tracking, etc. However, the Beiqing Daily reporter contacted the contact person of its Shanxi branch by phone, and the other party said that there was currently "no advertising and publication price", and then hung up the phone and did not want to talk more.
In order to attract investors, Sun Xun also said: "By the beginning of 2019, we will add dozens of national branch construction to the original 80 countries and branches, and hold a unified award ceremony around March... This platform is not one or two people, but a common home for everyone, as long as it is a participant, anyone can play and display their talents on this platform. At that time, all those who follow the cooperation or participants will be allocated the original shares according to their contributions after the listing, and everyone will be the beneficiary. ”
There are only two truth "journalists" and no licenses, and there are as many as 40 leaders
The beiqing daily reporter also saw that it is such a "media" with multiple branches and cooperative relations with hundreds of institutions that has only 2 reporters.
The beiqing daily reporter inquired about a 2019 introduction to its organizational structure, including: 7 board members, 13 advisory committee members, 2 general consultants, 8 honorary directors, 1 chairman and president, 1 president, 1 executive president, 1 executive president, 2 vice presidents, 5 vice presidents, 1 general manager of investment and operation, 1 editor-in-chief, 1 operation director, 1 film and television director, 1 administrative director, 2 news centers, 2 reporters, 2 editorial departments, 2 advertising departments, 2 outreach departments, There are 7 people in the business department, 2 people in the engineering department, 2 people in the office, 2 people in the legal department, and 4 special invited journalists. Among them, in a total of 73 people, there are only 2 reporters and more than 40 people at the level of director and president.
According to the list of journalists and the number of the press card given on the website, the reporter of Beiqing Daily tried to search for the names and card numbers of two reporters on the official website of the State Press and Publication Administration, and the results showed that "no content you want to inquire was found."
At present, the organizational structure displayed on its official website has changed, and there is no specific "reporter" setting, only showing that there are 16 presidents, vice presidents and directors, 16 ministers and vice ministers, and 15 column editors and consultants.
Yesterday, the Beiqing Daily reporter saw that from the operation and update of various websites of the Phoenix News Agency, the Phoenix News Agency and its subordinate branches did not stop their activities and did not change their names. Until May 22, the above-mentioned website was still publishing articles.
This "Phoenix" was ordered to pay 5 million yuan in damages for fraudulently using the Phoenix Group "Phoenix News Agency" instead of the other "Phoenix"
In August 2020, Phoenix Group sued Phoenix News Agency in court, and the Haidian District People's Court of Beijing Municipality rendered a first-instance judgment, finding that the latter constituted trademark infringement and unfair competition. The Haidian District People's Court of Beijing Municipality held that the "Hong Kong Phoenix News Agency Co., Ltd." used by Phoenix Jiayi (the operating entity of Phoenix News Agency in Beijing) on its website did not actually exist, and was a fictitious enterprise entity of Phoenix Jiayi Company, with the purpose of misleading the public. The Phoenix News Agency was required to immediately stop the infringement and compensate 5 million yuan.
The Phoenix News Agency told the court that "since its establishment in 2016, for various reasons, it has not yet obtained profitable income through business practices." After the Phoenix News Agency appealed, the court held that "as of the time of the trial, Phoenix Jiayi Company has not proved that it has stopped the infringement, so it should increase the intensity of infringement compensation and severely sanction malicious infringement", and finally maintained the amount of compensation of 5 million yuan and more than 40,000 yuan of case acceptance fees.
After experiencing a lawsuit with Phoenix SATELLITE TV, Sun Xun did not fulfill the 5 million yuan compensation judgment, and on May 8, 2021, he was listed by the Beijing Haidian District People's Court as a dishonest executor and could not take the plane, high-speed rail and other means of transportation.
According to his online resume, Sun Xun, born in 1962 in Jinzhou, Liaoning Province, worked as a teacher in Dahushan Town, Heishan County, Liaoning Province, in 1991, and later as a propaganda officer in the town government; in August 1993, he was transferred to the County Broadcasting Bureau, successively serving as director of the Radio News Department, director of the Literature and Art Department of cable TELEVISION Station, and director of the Editorial Department of the Municipal Radio and Television Newspaper; in August 1998, he was admitted to CCTV, and then transferred to Xinhua News Agency; from 2010 to the present, he successively served as the director of the reporter department of the "China Journalists Association" and the national "News Investigation Center" Director, vice president and president of "Phoenix News Agency", and planning producer of CCTV column group. However, the national "Centre for Investigative Journalism" did not exist after a search.
The agency also pays more attention to and reports on Sun Xun's hometown, and one of its few self-collected contents is about "The Secretary of the Jinzhou Municipal Party Committee of Liaoning Province Participated in the Memorial Ceremony of the Martyrs of the Black Mountain Resistance War", and the author of the article was "Zhao Jingran, a special reporter invited by the Phoenix News Agency".
Senior Editor of this issue Xing Tan