On September 16th, Stockholm Free World Forum’s fellow, Pär Nyrén wrote a brief for the Jamestown Foundation. In it he details the chinese communist party’s aspirations for far- and long-term reaching global influence through the so-called United Front Network. The united front includes a plethora of actors – cultural associations, media outlets and persons of interest in academia as well as business – who work together in forming strategic networks that shape the chinese narrative in Sweden.
With a high level of popular distrust of the PRC government in Sweden, united front actors have so far struggled to make a mark on mainstream society in the Nordic country. The embassy’s choice to cooperate with BRIX—which signals its lack of more well-established partners—has sparked ridicule rather than mobilizing support for PRC policies. Meanwhile, organizations directed toward the Chinese diaspora in Sweden have successfully been “harmonized” by pro-CCP individuals and organizations, something that until recently took place without attracting attention from the public.
Read the full brief here.