IFJ Press Freedom In China Campaign Bulletin

IFJ Press Freedom In China Campaign Bulletin

To IFJ Asia-Pacific affiliates and friends,

Welcome to IFJ Asia-Pacific’s monthly Press Freedom in China Campaign e-bulletin. The next bulletin will be sent on June 08 2013, and contributions are most welcome.

To contribute news or information, email ifj@ifj-asia.org. To visit the IFJ’s China Campaign page, go to www.ifj.org.

Please distribute this bulletin widely among colleagues in the media.

1) Media forbidden from using news agencies and sources from outside mainland China.
2) Media told to put “positive” tone on coverage of Sichuan earthquake
3) Web censorship continues with nearly 300 actions
4) Media group denied permission for IPO after critical reporting on labour camp conditions
5) Limited information available on Xinjiang attack; independent reporting deterred
6) Young female journalist killed in accident while reporting
7) Daughter of democracy activist blocked from granting media interview after being denied schooling
8) Taiwan media professionals worried over ethical breaches
9) Suspected self-censorship in Hong Kong channel over coverage of labour strike

1)     Media forbidden from using news agencies and sources from outside mainland China.

The newly reshuffled department overseeing media functioning in China – the State General Administration of Press, Publication, Radio , Film and Television -- has issued a notice to all media outlets and personnel forbidding the use of news agencies and sources from outside mainland China, without prior approval and possible censorship. At the same time, the order says the media must guide public opinion and keep its reports “positive”. The directive indicates that “positive guidance” of public opinion has become the duty of media. The IFJ urges Cai Fuchao, director of the oversight department, to clarify the reasons for this order, and to take steps to reassure the media that it will not be deterred in fulfilling its legitimate role of reporting the news honestly and truthfully using a multitude of legitimate new sources. 

2)     Media told to put “positive” tone on coverage of Sichuan earthquake

Following the 20 April earthquake in Lushan County in Sichuan province, media organisations that sent their journalists into the disaster zone, were directed to confine themselves to reporting “positive” news stories. While no limitations were placed on access to the disaster area, one journalist from mainland China journalist said: “Regarding the evacuation of victims, we were ordered not to make any comparisons (with earlier disasters) or comments about the evacuations conducted by the military”. These events were strongly reminiscent of the official response in May 2008 when a 8.0 magnitude earthquake struck Wenchuan in Sichuan province killing more than 69,000 people. In relation to the most recent directives to the media, the IFJ Asia-Pacific Office said: “The media must be allowed to report what has happened and at times that will be stories the government would see as ‘negative’ – but that is the nature of news reporting in times of crisis. There should be no attempt to ‘sugar-coat’ stories using spin but a requirement to report honestly and truthfully”.

3)     Web censorship continues with nearly 300 actions

The closure of websites held responsible for posting vulgar or pornographic material online is proceeding. According to reports issued on 16 April and 3 May by Xinhua, the state-owned Chinese news agency, nearly 300 websites, across twenty provinces, were allegedly carrying pornographic information and twenty among these were ordered shut down. Xinhua also reports that 175 administrators of the websites identified were ordered to delete pornographic material after interrogation by officials. Police have been investigating two websites, which were alleged to have serious problems. Two web-users from Guizhou Province were punished with five and ten-day administrative custody sentences after summary procedures, on accusations of spreading rumour through social media sites about the outbreak of H7N9 bird flu in Guiyang. At least eleven people across the country were detained by police for on charges of spreading “rumour” online about the bird flu virus in the past month. Some twenty accounts have also been closed. The campaign of website censorship launched by the National Office Against Pornographic and Illegal Publications is empowered to impose severe restraints on internet, mobile systems applications and online media players. It is known however to function with little transparency. It has still not released the full list of the websites that have been censored, the basis on which it has acted, or about the procedure it has followed, even when placing web-users under custody.
4)     Media group denied permission for IPO after critical reporting on labour camp conditions

Lens magazine, published by the SEEC Media Group, was punished after it published a report on the abuse of power by officials in Liaoning labour camp. The magazine in its issue of 6 April, reported that a number of women detainees in the Masanjia labour camp had been tortured by officials. The local government ordered an inquiry and put it out through official media outlets, that the allegations had been found baseless, without releasing the full report. Media outlets were asked not to re-publish the article or comment any further on the allegations it had levelled. Soon afterwards, the magazine’s license was cancelled and its application for an initial public offering of shares turned down. The media group was originally schedule to make its public offering of shares in June. The IFJ Asia- Pacific office in its reaction, described this as a clear case of “indirect suppression” of media freedom.  

5)     Limited information available on Xinjiang attack; independent reporting deterred

A deadly attack described as “terrorist” in intent occurred in Xinjiang province of China on 23 April, leaving 21 people killed. Information about this matter of great public importance was very limited and tightly controlled by the government. According to the Xinhua news agency and Global Times – controlled respectively by the state and the Communist Party -- fifteen civilians and police officers workers from all three major ethnic groups in the province were killed, along six alleged terrorist attackers. On 30 April, Xinjiang police claimed they had nabbed 19 suspects from the region of Kashgar, Urumqi and Bayingolin of Mongolia. Police said the terrorist group was established in September 2012 and had planned to “do something big” in populated public areas in Kashgar in summer. At the time of the accident, police claimed the group was spotted making explosives. All information released by the Xinjiang authorities has not been independently verified. A Chinese mainland journalist observed in this connection that media are well aware that of the prudence of relying on official sources for news from the areas of Tibet, Xinjiang and Mongolia. It is very easy to be accused of “separatism” if they seek out alternate news sources. In 2008, a journalist Chen Ping was fired from his job after writing an article about unrest in Tibet in an online news portal.

6)     Young female journalist killed in accident while reporting

Bai Lu, a young female journalist only four days into the profession was knocked down and killed by a bulldozer and killed on 18 April while reporting a story in the Urumqi area of Xinjiang province. A colleague, Chen Aiying, was seriously injured during the accident. Newspaper reports claimed that the accident occurred due to the negligence of the bulldozer crew. The IFJ has urged the Urumqi police to meet demands for a serious and thorough inquiry. It has also urged all media organisations to offer safety training and improve safety awareness among all employees.

7)     Daughter of democracy activist blocked from granting media interview after being denied schooling

Journalists were blocked from interviewing a ten-year old primary school student Zhang Anni, who has reportedly been prevented from beginning her schooling by the city administration of Hefei. According to a report in the Ming Pao newspaper, a journalist heading to the apartment of Zhang Anni, daughter of democracy activist Zhang Lin, was followed by several people. Having blocked a German magazine journalist from interviewing the girl, one member of the team later visited and searched Zhang’s apartment in order to make sure they had not met with any other media organisations. The journalist of Ming Pao newspaper only managed to hide away and evade this search with the help of Zhang Anni. The IFJ Asia-Pacific commented that: “Journalists have rights to interview anybody with consent which is protected by the regulations offered by the Central Government to non-Mainland media outlets. It is obviously the Government of Hefei city has breached the regulations”. The IFJ has urged the central government to investigate the case. Zhang Lin participated in 1989 student-led democracy protests in his hometown of Bengbu in Anhui province. He has been jailed four times, most recently in 2005 on accusations of incitement to subvert state power. Zhang has said that the school in Hefei has refused to readmit his daughter and its principal reportedly told him that they would not be able to guarantee her safety.

8)     Taiwan media professionals worried over ethical breaches

While the Chinese government is still in discussions with the Government of Taiwan on establishing news agencies from the mainland to establish bureaus in Taiwan, several Taiwan media associations including Taiwan Journalists Association (ATJ), an affiliate of IFJ, have expressed concern over this move. On 12 April, two television stations of Taiwan allegedly used their news segments to promote an entertainment programme from mainland China. On 14 April, the Liberty Times newspaper reported this matter, though without getting the title of the programme concerned right. The ATJ then commented that the two two television stations had brought professional ethics in jeopardy and suggesting that Liberty Times should offer an apology for its inaccuracy in reporting.

9)     Suspected self-censorship in Hong Kong channel over coverage of labour strike

While a month long labour strike at the Kwai Tsing Container Terminal is about to end, a suspected case of self-censorship in coverage of this issue has emerged in TVB, Hong Kong’s most popular free-to-air television channel. According to various sources around mid-April, a feature report on the labour strike, scheduled to air on a news magazine programme, was abruptly stopped by senior channel management. Although TVB spokespersons denied any interference in editorial decisions, the report prepared over two weeks continued to be omitted from broadcast slots. Some reports have suggested that TVB’s major shareholder has a strong business connection with the flagship company of Li Ka-Shing, major shareholder of Hutchison Whampoa which also controls the container terminal company. On 28 March, hundreds of container dockers struck work for a pay rise and improving working conditions. However the companies to whom the dock operations have been outsourced, refused to negotiate with the dockers. Docker representatives then made inquiries and found that these companies have a commercial linkage with a subsidiary company of Hutchison Whampoa.    

Serenade Woo
IFJ Project Manager
IFJ Asia-Pacific          

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