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The Chinese government has asked several international public relations agencies to discuss "strategies to repair its image before the Beijing Olympics" and "a contract, which includes pre-games PR strategies, media training, and market research on Western perceptions of China," the Financial Times of London reported Friday.[1] -- The firms contacted are British and American. -- "But the hiring of outside consultants may signal that the games are in danger of turning into a public relations disaster for the country and the ruling Communist party," wrote Jim Pickard and Richard McGregor. -- Such a step "would be a departure for the Chinese, which have previously kept all media relations in-house." ...

BEIJING SEEKS PR ADVISERS ON TIBET
By Jim Pickard (London) and Richard McGregor (Beijing)

The Chinese government is set to hire an international public relations agency in the wake of the Tibet crisis. The agency will advise it on strategies to repair its image before the Beijing Olympics.

Several British and U.S. agencies were invited to interviews with Chinese officials to discuss a contract, which includes pre-games PR strategies, media training, and market research on Western perceptions of China. The winner has not yet been announced, said a person familiar with the talks.

The initiative signals no change for the moment in China’s Tibet policy, which appears to be entrenched by a tough line from the top. Hu Jintao, the president, was once in charge of the Himalayan region.

The government has been angered by the international press coverage and global outcry over Tibet, believing that violent attacks on Han Chinese residents have been unfairly ignored.

The Chinese media and internet blogs have sharply criticized the “biased” Western media in the past fortnight, a campaign that is already filtering into a more cautious attitude among some officials dealing with foreign journalists in China.

But the hiring of outside consultants may signal that the games are in danger of turning into a public relations disaster for the country and the ruling Communist party.

“This is a cry for help,” said a Beijing-based PR executive. “They need to understand what people think of them and how they can effectively get their story into the media.”

The new role would be wider than an existing contract between Hill & Knowlton with the Beijing Organizing Committee, which is overseeing the games.

Industry executives said the initiative was also separate to an invitation issued in Beijing several months ago by the State Council Information Office for pitches on how to brand China around the world.

An industry executive who spoke on condition of anonymity said hiring outside consultants would be a departure for the Chinese, which have previously kept all media relations in-house.

The sudden uprising in Tibet has tied the long-running issue to the games and its preparations, including the international leg of the Olympics torch relay, launched in Beijing this week. China has pressed foreign governments that are hosting the torch, including the U.K. and France, to ensure that its passage is not marred by protests.

Separately, a Chinese court has sentenced a political activist to three-and-a-half years in jail for “inciting state subversion” in a case that has become symbolic of a crackdown on dissidents. The Beijing first intermediate people’s court cited as evidence an interview with Western media given by Hu Jia and articles published on overseas websites in which, it said, he “repeatedly instigated other people to subvert the Chinese political and socialist systems.”