Media freedom in China

Deb 6 November 2007, 03:03PM

Written by Leo Tallay

The Chinese Government has long held a tight grip on both the domestic and foreign media. This is despite Article 35 of the Constitution of the People's Republic of China specifically guaranteeing "freedom of the press".

When in 2001 Beijing was awarded the 2008 Olympics, Liu Jingmin, then Vice-President of the Olympic Games bid committee, declared that "by allowing Beijing to host the Games you will help the development of human rights".

As part of its bid to host the Olympics, the Chinese government expressly assured the International Olympic Committee (IOC) that it would comply with Article 51 of the Olympic Charter, which stipulates that the IOC should take "all necessary steps in order to ensure the fullest coverage by the different media and the widest possible audience in the world for the Olympic Games".

So far, China's most significant step forward for media freedom was the introduction on 1 January 2007 of new regulations giving greater freedom to foreign journalists to cover news stories in China in the run-up to and during the Olympics. These new rules were announced with much fanfare in the official press.

Organisers expect 5,600 print journalists and photographers as well as 16,000 broadcast journalists to be accredited for the Games. This means that there will be a lot of people interested in covering stories about China that go beyond sport.

Crackdown on the ground

For the moment, promises of greater freedom for the foreign media have not materialised on the ground. The Foreign Correspondents' Club of China (FCCC) reported no less than 157 incidents between 1 January and mid-September 2007, including arrests, surveillance, intimidation of sources, and violence or threats.

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) reported 32 cases of foreign journalists detained or otherwise prevented by police from doing their work during the same period.

In one recent case, two Agence France-Presse reporters were detained for five hours on 12 September as they tried to go to Shengyou, a village south of Beijing where it had been reported that people employed by local Communist Party officials had killed six people and injured about 50 others over a land dispute in 2005. A BBC reporter had earlier been detained then turned back while trying to investigate the same case.

If anything, the harassment seems to have worsened with the 17th Chinese Communist Party (CCP) Congress held in Beijing in mid-October, as it is every five years. During the meeting, the Beijing correspondent of the French newspaper Le Monde reported, being prevented from meeting with activists opposing re-development plans in a Beijing district ahead of the Olympics.

The above incidents are in direct contradiction to the new regulations. These state, among other things, that "to interview organisations or individuals in China, foreign journalists need only to obtain (their) prior consent". They also say that "foreign journalists may freely travel to places open to foreigners".

What this means for foreign journalists wishing to visit sensitive areas like Tibet and the far-western province of Xinjiang - where demands for more autonomy have been brutally repressed in the past - remains unclear.

Double standards

While foreign journalists may face harassment as they try to do their work, Chinese journalists face potentially far more serious threats. Domestic journalists are intentionally excluded from the new temporary regulations, in what amounts to the Chinese Government discriminating against its own people.

Chinese nationals who are assistants, researchers, translators or sources for foreign journalists actually face tightened surveillance and pressure from the authorities.

In the most serious recent incident, reporter Lan Chengzhang was beaten to death in January 2007 in Shanxi province, allegedly by hired thugs. He had been investigating an illegal coal mine there. Although the mine owner was eventually convicted, journalists investigating the case faced obstruction, with eight staff members of a Beijing newspaper which covered the story actually ending up sacked.

Chinese authorities therefore seem to have every intention of maintaining a stranglehold on the activities of domestic journalists. Four months before the new regulations for foreign journalists came into force, another measure was passed granting Xinhua, the official Government news agency, greater supervision over the distribution of news from foreign agencies within China.

As is often the case in China, broadly defined categories are used to prohibit the distribution of news. These include any information that could 'endanger China's national security, reputation and interests', or 'undermine China's social stability'.

What this means in practice is that while foreign journalists may have slightly more freedom to cover sensitive issues in China, their reports now run a higher risk of being censored from a domestic audience with Xinhua's strengthened control over distribution.

Amnesty International also reported in April 2007 that three official rulings had been introduced since 1 January and the start of the new regulations for foreign journalists. These further tightened control over the domestic media.

In January 2007, the CCP Central Propaganda Department imposed new 'pre-censorship' rules forcing the media to seek permission to cover significant historical events or anniversaries involving figures deemed to be controversial or politically sensitive.

This was followed by the introduction of restrictions by the Propaganda Department of the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (SARFT) banning news reporting on 20 specific issues, including discussions of judicial corruption and rights protection campaigns, in the run-up to the 17th CCP Congress in October.

In February 2007, it was reported that the CCP Central Propaganda Department had set up a new penalty points system for print media indicating that media outlets would be subjected to closure if all their points were deducted. Media would initially be allocated 12 points, but it was unclear exactly how 'wrongdoing' would be determined or calculated, forcing the media to self-censor as much as possible, just to be on the safe side.

Censorship continues

The introduction of the new regulations has done little to relax surveillance and control of both the media and the internet. Amnesty International reported in August 2007 that an online literary forum run by poet Lu Yang in Shanghai had been closed down the previous month following instructions from the local Information Bureau.

Also in July 2007, authorities in the south-eastern city of Xiamen announced that they were planning to force Internet users in the city to register under their real names. This was prompted by a recent online campaign by local residents to organise a peaceful protest against a toxic chemical plant to be built close to the city.

In June 2007, three editors from the Chengdu Evening News newspaper in Sichuan province were sacked for letting slip through an advertisement paying tribute to the families of those killed during the crackdown following the 1989 pro-democracy movement. Apparently a young clerk accepted the advertisement for publication as she was unaware of the 1989 crackdown.

That a young person in today's China would be unaware of the events in Tiananmen Square in June 1989 is hardly surprising the whole issue remains erased from magazines, newspapers, school text-books and Internet sites inside the country.

On 1 June 2007, Amnesty International issued a public statement highlighting official censorship of any public debate on the issue, and also reiterated its calls on the authorities to publicly account for and release all those who remain in prison as a result of the crackdown.

A temporary relaxation

The new regulations introduced on 1 January 2007 are temporary; their use-by date is 17 October 2008, one month after the end of the Paralympic Games in Beijing. Cai Wu, Minister of the State Council Information Office, has publicly raised the possibility that these changes will be made permanent after their expiry date.

This would be a welcome development if the changes announced by Chinese authorities were actually applied in practice. For now, foreign journalists covering anything other than sports face much the same difficulties in doing their job in China as before. Furthermore, the discrimination Chinese journalists face trying to do their job in their own country continues, with a series of recent new rules actually increasing the restrictions on their work.

The Olympics present the Chinese Government with an unprecedented opportunity to help create a more transparent society in China. Amnesty International believes that this is one of the first steps towards creating a society that upholds basic human rights.

Chinese leaders now have nine months left to begin the changes to create such a transparent society. Now is the time to begin the campaign for There is still time for lasting change to be created. Now is the time to campaign to create lasting change in China.

About the Author

This blog entry was created by Deb and does not necessarily represent the position or opinion of Amnesty International Australia.

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