24 May 2010 | Uncategorized
It’s been a busy month for China’s central propaganda department (CPD).
In April, the Qinghai earthquake exposed tensions between Tibetans and the Chinese authorities. The disaster, just weeks prior to the Shanghai Expo, seemed likely to steal the limelight away from the celebrated international event. More recently the CPD’s skills have been tested by a spate of school attacks, the department responded with a press freedom clampdown, it banned reporters from interviewing the parents of the dead and injured schoolchildren. Also on the CPD’s growing list of media concerns this month were the state visit of North Korea‘s leader Kim Jong-il and last week’s China-US Human Rights Dialogue.
Faced with a possible outbreak of negative publicity, the CPD have been issuing internal “directives” on a near daily basis, the orders specify what stories news agencies can publish, how to publish them, and how to control and monitor the public discussions. Luckily for us, so widespread are these directives that there is a Chinese blog, the Ministry of Truth, dedicated to leaking these press guidelines for all to see.
Excerpts from some of the directives have been translated into English by China Digital:
17 May – Regarding sentencing of Taixing school attacker; “only use Xinhua sources for pronouncement of first sentence, do not report death sentence, not not promote any other similar news items.”
14 May – Report “China-US Human Rights Dialogue” correctly, do not put related news on the front page, close comment sections.
12 May – [Shaanxi stabbings] …only publish the general draft from Xinhua, do not use information from other sources; do not place it in a prominent position; do not exhibit it for a long time; close the news commentary function.
11 May – News about Internet in Xinjiang must all use draft of media in Xinjiang, do not promote, do not hype.
30 April – [Shanghai Expo] … all media need to use reports from Xinhua or other central committee media; no other media should do its own reporting; no following or stopping leaders for interviews
29 April – [Taixing stabbings] … do not send reporters for interviews… Do not put it on the highlights section or on the front page. Do not give it a large title. Do not attach photos.
For more information about the Ministry of Truth, read this China Digital article.
20 May 2010 | News and features
A new report highlights the way China targeted Tibetan intellectuals and artists in response to Tibet’s spring 2008 protests writes Kate Saunders
There has been a vibrant literary and cultural resurgence in Tibet since spring 2008, when protests against Chinese government policy and in support of the Dalai Lama swept across the plateau.
A new generation of Tibetan intellectuals, often fluent in Chinese and familiar with digital technology, are daring to refute China’s official narrative. Their critiques are among the most wide-ranging indictments of Chinese policy in Tibet for 50 years.
In response, there is a deepening crackdown by the Chinese government against Tibetan writers, bloggers, artists, and other intellectuals in the public sphere. For the first time since the Cultural Revolution, writers, intellectuals, singers and artists in Tibet are being systematically targeted for their work, and almost every expression of Tibetan identity can be accused of being “reactionary” or “splittist”. Tashi Dhondup, a popular singer from Amdo (now Qinghai), , is in a labour camp as a result of singing songs referring to Tibetans’ grief at the killings of March 2008. Kunchok Tsephel, the founder of a website promoting Tibetan culture, was sentenced to 15 years in prison in November. Bloggers, artists and other intellectuals, including an artist who taught the Tibetan language to nomad children, have ‘disappeared’.
Although less well-known outside China than high-profile Chinese dissidents such as Liu Xiaobo and Hu Jia, many of the intellectuals named are famous among Tibetans, and are also enduring long prison terms for peaceful expression. Their concerns about restrictions and repression mirror those of their Chinese counterparts.
A new list is now available at www.savetibet.org detailing the cases of more than 50 Tibetans, including 13 writers, involved in the arts and public sphere who are either in prison, have been ‘disappeared’ or have faced torture or harassment due to expressing their views.
Since March 2008, the Chinese government has blocked news of the arrests, torture, disappearances and killings that have taken place across Tibet. The dangers faced by Tibetans who seek to describe the situation on the ground or simply express their views to the outside world have dramatically increased.
Among those named in the International Campaign for Tibet’s report are Tibetans sentenced to long prison terms for simply speaking about the crackdown via email or on the telephone. The penalties attached to these cases indicate a zero tolerance policy that is counter to China’s obligations to free speech under its own law and international human rights law.
Kate Saunders works for the International Campaign for Tibet
19 May 2010 | Index Index, minipost, Uncategorized
Anyone wishing to reproduce printed or written material in Lhasa will have to undergo real-name ID registration due to a new ruling announced on 10 May. Local police will now regularly check copy service providers to ensure that they take down the names, addresses and organisations of all their customers. The move is intended to monitor the distribution of leaflets and pamphlets by pro-Tibetan activists.
7 May 2010 | Digital Freedom, Index Index, minipost, Uncategorized
China may ban anonymous online comments. In a China Daily article yesterday, government spokesperson Wang Chen confirmed plans to implement a real-name registration system. Currently, people must register a username in order to post on all major news sites but the new measures will introduce “an identity authentication system for users of online bulletin board[s]”, as well comment posting. This will effectively make it easier for authorities to target those vocalising subversive opinions online.
