China Clings to Control: Press Freedom in 2009

[Skeptic]

A new report by the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) on press freedom in China highlights the battle by local censors to control media commentary on a wide range of topics throughout in 2009.

Banned topics range from events associated with social unrest and public protests against authorities, to reports of photos of an actress topless on a Caribbean beach.

The report, China Clings to Control: Press Freedom in 2009, will be officially released by the IFJ at the Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Hong Kong at 11am on January 31. The IFJ report details 62 bans issued from January to November 2009, among hundreds of regulations issued by central and provincial authorities in the past year.

Compiled with the assistance of Chinese Human Rights Defenders (CHRD), the list below is not complete because of difficulties in obtaining information in China about instructions to the media.

Media-Related Orders in China, 2009

From: China Clings to Control: Press Freedom in 2009

The number on each item indicates the date the order was issued.
January 2009

105: Media must not report on the reformation of fuel tax.

110: Media must cease reporting on the discovery of a body at a psychiatric hospital in Dongguan.

122: Media must use Xinhua News Agency reports about the court verdict in the Sanlu tainted milk powder case. No commentary or investigative reporting permitted.

130: Media must not report on photos of actress Zhang Ziyi topless on a Caribbean beach.

February 2009

211: Media must not be sent to report on the earthquake zone in Sichuan province.

220: Media including internet-based outlets must not republish a February 17 report on a company found guilty of defaming a reporter who reported a miscarriage of justice case in 2005.

223: Media must be reminded that reporting spontaneous news from other provinces is prohibited.

224: Media must not be sent to Shanxi province to cover a gas explosion.

228: Media must not be sent to Shandong or Henan provinces to cover a foot-and-mouth disease outbreak.

March 2009

Date unknown: Media must not report on the election of Macau Chief Executive.

306: Media must not report on the sacking of former Communist Party chief and deputy director of the Shenzhen Maritime Safety Administration, Lin Jiaxiang, who was sacked for alleged drunken behaviour and child molestation.

307: Media must not report on comments by members of the National People’s Congress about a possible ban by China on poultry imports from the US.

309: Media must not report on a decision by the Supreme People’s Court to review a four-year-old plagiarism case against Wuhan University law professor Zhou Yezhong.

313: The 21st Century Business Herald must remove an article about financial dealings between tycoon Wang Guoju and Hong Kong-listed company China Energy Development Holdings Ltd.

318: Media must not report on the failure of a team led by Liaoning Governor to attract investments by overseas entrepreneurs in China.

324: Media must use official information to report on the fatal shooting of a guard in front of an army station branch in Chongqing.

325: Media must use official information to report on the signing of an oil channel agreement between China and Burma. No reporting on the background of the agreement or feature writing permitted.

327: Media must not report on a lawsuit against China Eastern Airline by victims of a plane crash in 2004 in which 53 passengers were killed.

April 2009

410: Media must not report on the welfare, injury or death of prison inmates unless the information is sourced from the Prison Bureau.

413: The State Administrative of Radio Film and Television prohibits entertainment programs from publishing or discussing celebrity love affairs or scandalous material.

414: All media including internet-based outlets must report positively on a book called China Unhappy. No commentary or billboard rankings about the book allowed.

417: Media must cease reporting on the connection between a high incidence of miscarriages in pregnant women in Dujiangyan City and formaldehyde exposure.

419: Media must not report on issues related to the parents of children killed during the 2008 Sichuan earthquake. Media must only report the list of victims announced by officials. Media must not conduct independent investigative reporting about the number of victims. Media must not publish subjective conclusions about the reasons why buildings collapsed during the earthquake. Media must use official information about the reconstruction of the quake zone. Problems during the reconstruction must be reported to the authorities and must not be published.

420: Media must not report on a dispute relating to a cross-province railway extension between Shanghai and Yunnan.

422: Media must cease reporting on the suicide of propaganda department vice director in Beichuan, Sichuan.

428: Media must report positively on the reform of the Health Medical Policy of the Health Department. Media should only interview experts recommended by the authorities and should be careful of other experts’ comments.

May 2009

Date unknown: Media must not report on former Premier Zhao Ziyang’s memoirs.

502: Media must not publish commentary about the May Fourth Movement.

507: Media must use Foreign Ministry information about the interception by the US navy of a Chinese fishing vessel. Media must not publish commentary or use information sourced from overseas.

522: Media must use Xinhua News Agency information and reports about a visit by US senators to China.

525: Media must use Xinhua News Agency information to report on nuclear testing in North Korea. Articles about the issue should not be placed in a prominent place.

526: Media must not report on a murder case in Badong. All journalists should leave Badong immediately.

529: Media must not be sent to Badong. Media must use Xinhua News Agency information about the Badong case. Media must not report on conflict between journalists and local government officials.

530: Media must not report on pollution in Jiaozuo, Henan.

June 2009

608: Media must only use information from the Xinhua News Agency website, the China Daily and CCTV to report on investigations of Shenzhen Mayor Xu Zongheng.

610: Media must report positively on the Green Dam project. Media can organise interviews with some experts and parents about filters for pornographic material under this project. No commentary allowed. Website management must delete all critical articles about the project.

619: Media must report the Iran election in a low-key fashion without commentary. Do not place prominently.

626: Media must use official information to report on an ethnic-based violent incident in Shaoguan. Media must not be sent to Shaoguan to report on the incident.

627: Media must not be sent to Shaoguan. Any articles written must be low-key and not placed prominently.

628: Xinhua News Agency and Southern.cn will report the cause of the Shaoguan incident. Other media must not republish this information.

629: Only Southern.cn website in Shaoguan is permitted to report the investigation report of the Shaoguan conflict. Other media must not republish this information.

July 2009


706: Media must use only Xinhua News Agency information to report on riots in Xinjiang and Shaoguan. No journalist should be sent to Xinjiang.

708: Media must not report on a lawsuit brought by an academic against a Xinnet.com website.

711: Media must only report the number of people killed in Xinjiang. Media must not report on the cause of the ethnic-based conflict. Media must use Xinhua News Agency information only or will face punishment from the Central Propaganda Department.

715: Media must use only Xinhua News Agency information about the cause of train collision in Zhenzhou, Hunan Province, on June 29.

721: Media must not report on corruption allegations relating to the eldest son of President Hu Jintao.

728: Media must use Xinhua News Agency information to report on the death of a factory general manager in Jilin after a protest by factory employees. Media must not be sent to Jilin and all journalists must be instructed to leave the vicinity.

August

805: Xinhua News Agency website will report on the investigation into the secretary of the Communist Party of China National Nuclear Corporation. Other media must not republish or broadcast this information.

814: Media must not report on issues related to Gongmeng Legal Research Centre legal representative Dr Xu Zhiyong.

815: Media must not report any unconfirmed information about terrorist organisations’ attack on China in relation to the Xinjiang riots. Media must not republish China Daily’s report about 200 Xinjiang riot suspects pending to trial.

820: Articles about conflict between Russia and China in relation to business must be censored before publication. Media must reduce the number of articles about this case.

825: Media must delay reporting about alleged bribery between the US-based CII company and a state-owned company.

828: Media must not report on organ transplants at Sun Yatsen University.

830: Media must use Xinhua News Agency information to report on the arrival of up to 30,000 Burmese refugees in Konkan in south-western Yunan province. All reporters must leave Konkan.

831: Media must use official information to report about the arrival of Burmese refugees to Yunan. All journalists must leave Yunan.

September

Date unknown: Media must not report on a riot of more than 10,000 villagers in Fengwei town, Quanzhou, Fujian, which was sparked by industrial contamination of drinking water.

Date unknown: Media must use Xinhua News Agency information about the visit by Tibet spiritual leader the Dalai Lama to Taiwan.

October

Date unknown: More than 10 orders were made: some orders prohibited the media from reporting at Tiananmen Square and other public venues in the lead-up to National Day on October 1.

Date unknown: Media must delete all images of President Hu in front of a billboard advertising the Japan-based company Toshiba during China’s National Day Parade on October 1.

November

Date unknown: Media must not report about elections of the Legislative Council and Chief Executive of Hong Kong.

1116: Media must use Xinhua News Agency information to report on US President Obama’s visit to China. Media must delete any news or other articles referring to questions at a forum at the Shanghai Science and Technology Museum. Journalists are forbidden from organising questions to be relayed over the internet and put to Obama. Media must not report on or publish reports of protests or spontaneous news during Obama’s visit.

Date unknown: Only the magazine of Southern Metropolis enterprise is allowed to report interviews with Obama. Other media must not republish these interviews.

For further information contact IFJ Asia-Pacific on +612 9333 0919

The IFJ represents over 600,000 journalists in 125 countries worldwide

Link to he full report: http://asiapacific.ifj.org/assets/docs/026/101/5bc771a-e97d065.pdf

 

[Skeptic]

use of their work. About 50 journalists and writers remain in jail or detention in China, according to the Writers in Prison Committee of Independent Chinese Pen Center, International PEN. Huang Qi, who helped victims of the Sichuan
earthquake, was sentenced to three years’ jail by the Court of Wuhou in Sichuan Province on November 23. Huang, 46, founder of the 64 Tianwang website at www.64tianwang.com, was detained in June 2008 after posting an article online which criticised the Government’s handling of the disaster. The judgement found Huang guilty of “illegal possession of state secrets” on the basis that he had obtained three documents deemed to be “state secrets”. The judgement did not define “state secret” or clarify how the documents could be defined as such. Huang’s wife, Zeng Li, said the documents were already publicly available. Meanwhile, Huang’s health is deteriorating in jail.

Mehbube Ablesh, a writer, poet and media worker at the government-run Xinjiang People’s Radio Station, based in Urumqi, was sacked and detained by authorities in August 2008. She is reportedly being held for posting articles critical of China’s Government and the provincial leadership in the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region. She is reportedly being held in Urumqi, although no details of any charges have been made public.
Tashi Rabten, a Tibetan writer from Ruoergai county in Ngaba, Sichuan Province, and editor of the banned literary magazine Shar Dungri (Eastern
Snow Mountain), was arrested on July 27, 2009. Tashi was reportedly under surveillance while studying at the Northwestern Minorities University in Lanzhou. It is believed he was detained because of his recent book, Written in Blood, a collection of political articles on democracy, freedom and equality, as well as his participation in the publication of Shar Dungri, which dealt with the suppression of protests in Tibet in 2008. He is reportedly held at a detention centre in Ngaba.

Shi Tao is a journalist and poet who wrote for the daily Contemporary Business News based in Changsha and contributed to other newspapers, was active on the internet and submitted articles and occasional political commentary to Chinese websites abroad. His essays often call for political reform. He was employed at Contemporary Business News between February and April
2004 when a staff meeting assessed a Central Propaganda Department memo giving instructions on information gathering and media coverage of the approaching 15th anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Massacre. Shi forwarded his meeting notes via email to independent Chinese-language
websites abroad, which are banned in China. Shi was arrested in November 2004 and charged in December 2004. His writings, computer, and other
personal belongings were confiscated. His wife was warned by the police that if she told anyone about this action, her husband would be mistreated. In March 2005, Shi was found guilty in a closed twohour hearing of “illegally divulging state secrets abroad”. In April 2005, he was sentenced to 10 years’ jail and two years’ deprivation of political rights.

Du Daobin, a writer and member of the Independent Chinese PEN Centre, was re-arrested on July 21, 2008 to serve the remaining two years and four months of a three-year sentence. Du was convicted in June 2004 of “inciting subversion of state power” for 175 words in 26 of his articles. The original sentence was suspended for four years, followed by two years’ deprivation of political rights. However, in 2008 he was accused of violating the terms of his sentence by publishing more than 100 articles on the internet, leaving his home city, and receiving guests without permission. Du is being held in Hanxi Prison, Wuhan City, Hubei Province. Writer Liu Xiaobo, 53, was sentenced on December 25 to 11 years’ jail and deprived of his political rights for two years. Liu, a renowned literary critic, academic and political activist, was charged by the Beijing Public Security Bureau on June 23 with “inciting subversion of state power” for coauthoring Charter 08. The Charter is a declaration calling for political reform, greater human rights and an end to one-party rule in China. He was detained on December 8, 2008, along with Zhang Zuhua and Jiang Qisheng, before the formal release of the Charter. Zhang and Jiang were released the next morning. Their detainment came during a period of several sensitive anniversaries, including the 100- year anniversary of the promulgation of China’s first constitution, the 60-year anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the 30-year anniversary of Beijing’s Democracy Wall” movement. Liu’s wife, Liu Xia, is rarely allowed to visit and is also under surveillance.

The Charter was initially endorsed by 300 signatories, and has since been signed by hundreds of people throughout China and supported by tens of thousands of people around the world. Members of the initial group of 300 experience varying degrees of harassment. Phones are tapped, emails and online messenger chats are hacked, they are followed in the street, there is interference when they meet their friends, and they are not permitted to leave their home towns. At times of heightened sensitivity, such as during the visit of President Obama, some members of the group have been forced to leave their homes in Beijing.

 

[dccafe]

umm... I think there are way more than that shown figures...
its the "Harmonious society" policy causing this.
and we all know about it, hopefully they will amend it in the near future

 

[xdrive]

So much censorship.

 

[albwd]

So much censorship.

Other than the current policy of harmony to maintain cohesion in China, we can also do the "Jew" way, engage ourselves constantly in all out wars. Which one would you prefer China to do? We don't have much problems with either.

 

[dccafe]

So much censorship.

Other than the current policy of harmony to maintain cohesion in China, we can also do the "Jew" way, engage ourselves constantly in all out wars. Which one would you prefer China to do? We don't have much problems with either.

没營养的話就别理了吧~~~
不然又低累死

 

[chinapakistan]

Other than the current policy of harmony to maintain cohesion in China, we can also do the "Jew" way, engage ourselves constantly in all out wars. Which one would you prefer China to do? We don't have much problems with either.

It is no need to talk with a crazy guy who just wanna troll.

 

[Skeptic]

So much censorship.

Yeah, but no need for onelines, readers can make out on their own.

My reason for posting is:

a) These are all not extremely sensitive issues which are being censored. I mean every other country is facing far worse issues. Why such trivial issues as a topless model being censored

b) Why shying away from corruption issues... i mean we all know - The Chinese and the westerns that corruption exists. Chinese guys must be dealing with it like all of us are in India or Pakistan. not reading about it does not end it, just mounts the frustration that there is no end in sight and the issue is being pushed under the rug.

c) China is getting lots of bad press just because it is not very friendly with media. infact it comes across as a contradictory stance. If you are very image conscious, you would keep Journalist happy, that would only be possible with a freer media.

some more I'll add later else it might be mistaken for a rant....

 

[feifanke]

印度阿三又来玩，好啊，雏鸡结束了，咱还继续么

 

[feifanke]

indians,your left hand

 

[dccafe]

Yeah, but no need for onelines, readers can make out on their own.

My reason for posting is:

a) These are all not extremely sensitive issues which are being censored. I mean every other country is facing far worse issues. Why such trivial issues as a topless model being censored

b) Why shying away from corruption issues... i mean we all know - The Chinese and the westerns that corruption exists. Chinese guys must be dealing with it like all of us are in India or Pakistan. not reading about it does not end it, just mounts the frustration that there is no end in sight and the issue is being pushed under the rug.

c) China is getting lots of bad press just because it is not very friendly with media. infact it comes across as a contradictory stance. If you are very image conscious, you would keep Journalist happy, that would only be possible with a freer media.

some more I'll add later else it might be mistaken for a rant....

1~Chinese culture has always been conservative, and one topless model could "create" thousands of people having this "topless model" dream, which is against our traditional value. and that means it would go against the "harmonious society" policy.

2~Our gov arrested many corrupted officials, and they do go on news...actually seeing them everyday on news sites, but compare with the numbers of corrupted officials... its really nothing.
Even arresting 10 corrupted officials(and related personnel) everyday is nothing, when you are considering millions(anyone who works for the gov).

 

[Skeptic]

1~Chinese culture has always been conservative, and one topless model could "create" thousands of people having this "topless model" dream, which is against our traditional value. and that means it would go against the "harmonious society" policy.

2~Our gov arrested many corrupted officials, and they do go on news...actually seeing them everyday on news sites, but compare with the numbers of corrupted officials... its really nothing.
Even arresting 10 corrupted officials(and related personnel) everyday is nothing, when you are considering millions(anyone who works for the gov).

So basically the strategy is to expose corruption at the lower levels while leaving the high profile cases.

Anyways 3rd question remains unanswered. china remains highly image conscious but still does not treat the Journalists well.. (putting it mildly)

 

[dccafe]

So basically the strategy is to expose corruption at the lower levels while leaving the high profile cases.

Anyways 3rd question remains unanswered. china remains highly image conscious but still does not treat the Journalists well.. (putting it mildly)

For that, I have no comments on, since I have no idea, and I do not want to make comments that i am not certain.
I will leave it to others.

 

[gpit]

Why some don’t like Chinese medium censorship, are they longing for a “96-hour” of Chinese version?

I think India should learn from China to cut their medium craps. There are too many of that, and are against Indian national interest.

 

[applesauce]

Why some don’t like Chinese medium censorship, are they longing for a “96-hour” of Chinese version?

I think India should learn from China to cut their medium craps. There are too many of that, and are against Indian national interest.

if china ever did come out with a 96hour statement it would instantly alert many nations around the world, not so much for its current capability but rather as a hint it was arm it self to the teeth soon and thats not good for the world