August 9, 2012
Chinese Central Propaganda Department Restrain Reporting on Olympic Athlete Liu Xiang
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) is concerned by a directive issued by China’s Central Propaganda
Department to all national media on August 7 that no negative reporting should be made about Chinese athlete Liu Xiang.
According to a report from a mainland journalist to the IFJ, the Central Propaganda Department directive states that
media are not to report either “negative or sceptical analysis” about Liu Xiang’s performance at the Olympic Games.
The journalist report further states that journalists had “expected to receive such an order.” “Media are only allowed
to republish Xinhua’s articles. We will still write via microblogs, but don’t know how long they will last.”
The Global Times and other media outlets reported this week that Chinese athlete Liu Xiang, a competitor in the 110m
Hurdles in the 2012 Olympic Games, suffered a suspected ruptured Achilles tendon which caused him to stumble at the
first hurdle during his heat.
Liu was the gold medal winner in 110m Hurdles at the Athens Olympics in 2004. He exited the Beijing Olympics early in
2008, due to injury.
This incident is another example of the Central Propaganda Department’s lack of respect for independent media.
The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) urges Premier Wen Jiabao to lift the restrictive directive which
prevents the media from fulfilling its duty to report openly and in the public interest.
The IFJ represents more than 600,000 journalists in 131 countries
Find the IFJ on Twitter: @ifjasiapacific
Find the IFJ on Facebook: www.facebook.com/IFJAsiaPacific
ENDS