Results matching “china tightenin”

China has announced new rules controlling the content of news sites on Sunday. News websites should only post articles on current politics and events, only "healthy and civilized news and information that is beneficial to the improvement of the quality of the nation, beneficial to its economic development and conducive to social progress will be allowed" and news sites will be "prohibited from spreading news and information that goes against state security and public interest", reports CyberJournalist.net. The New York Times writes that the rules form part of a broader effort to "police the Internet" which has developed as a major source of information for the Chinese population and to which 100 million now have access.

As the New York Times states, "experts who follow the Internet say one of the most significant changes is the ban on self-generated opinion and commentary articles that accompany the standard state-issued news bulletins on major portal sites." Only in August China announced that it will tighten restrictions on foreign media (see former posting).

Sources: New York Times, CyberJournalist.net

Li Datong, veteran editor of the outspoken China Youth Daily, wrote an open letter to the staff questioning a new appraisal system linking journalists' salaries to party praise, reports Asia Media. The letter of Li Datong, who is editor of Bingdian Weekly, a supplement running investigative stories every Wednesday, was posted on the popular chat room Yannan BBS, writes Asia Media.

In his "unusual show of dissent against the communist party's iron grip over the media" (AFP), Li Datong argues that the new system threatens editorial freedom: "Under such an uncivilised and unreasonable system, provided that editors and journalists have not gone mad, who on earth would still want to write reports which keep officials in check?" he asked. According to AFP, the appraisal system, that is planned to be implemented this week, works as follows: "Reporters would be awarded 300 points for stories praised by central government leaders, 120 points for those praised by the Communist Party Propaganda Department and 100 points for those praised by party officials. But by the same standard, reporters will receive negative points for writing stories that are criticised by these officials." The new editor-in-chief of China Youth Daily, Li Erliang, took over in December "in a reshuffle regarded as a sign of a tightening of media controls by the authorities", states Asia Media.

The appraisal system seems to be in line with China's efforts to tighten control over the media (see previous posting) and its policy against dissident writers (see previous posting).

Source: AFP, Asia Media

In the beginning of August China announced rules to tighten its control on foreign media (see previous posting). As the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) reports, at the same time the Beijing National Security Bureau announced the prosecution of dissident journalist Ching Cheong. The veteran Hong Kong journalist, who has written on China for over 20 years and who has many contacts among prominent academics and government officials in China, is accused of spying for Taiwan and was arrested in April. According to IFJ he is facing death penalty if charges are proved. IFJ suggests that his arrest "may be intended to send a message to the media about the limits placed on press freedom by the Communist leadership."

The message is especially important to Hong Kong journalists. According to Asia Media, an academic warned on Saturday that they "must learn to understand the mainland's rules on operating across the border." Cheong`s arrest shows that the Chinese central authorities do not have a clear distinction between intelligence and news information nor between the role of a reporter and the role of a spy, argues Ong Yew-kim, researcher at the Institute of Asia-Pacific Studies, Chinese University, on Asia Media. He goes on saying that "China is only a partially open country; there's no freedom of the press, many people are persecuted." Similarly, Johnny Lau Yui-siu, a political analyst cited on Asia Media said that China and Hong Kong have very different definitions of news-gathering which leads journalists often into grey areas: "The central authorities' openness is only limited to the economic level," he said.

Sources: Asia Media, IFJ, previous posting

On Tuesday China announced that it will tighten restrictions on foreign newspapers, television programs, books and performances. The goal is to strengthen control over China's cultural life. According to the International Herald Tribune the new rules state: "Import of cultural products contrary to regulations will be punished according to the circumstances, and in serious cases the import license will be revoked. In the near future, there will be no more approvals for setting up cultural import agencies."

This puts an end to approvals of foreign satellite broadcasters trying to enter the market. But what does it mean to newspapers? "Foreign magazines and newspapers can be sold only through state-controlled agencies ... Analysts and broadcasters said the rules were part of a wider effort to clamp down on foreign influence over mass culture in China", writes the International Herald Tribune. So it seems that it will be difficult for foreign publishers to enter the growing Chinese market.

Source: International Herald Tribune