China is fast becoming a leader in the global markets, its growth deriving from the alarming growth of trade and urbanization. But the country is caught between the desire to open its media industry to international competitors and its traditional manipulation of a media culture that treats news as a propaganda tool. According to reports by www.internetworldstats.com, China has around 100 million users, second only to the United States, and a figure that is set to rise to 750 million in the next few decades. The government’s monitoring structure promotes an environment of self-censorship, a system which not only creates restrictions for journalists and media, but threatens the basic rights of citizens to the freedom of speech. But China’s expanding economy is enabling greater diversity in its online media coverage, and combined with the increasing public demand for information, a long-standing regime of press censorship is starting to falter. Can the government succeed in its aim to be a leader in the online industry and continue to clamp down on the flow of free information?China finds itself in a state of indecision, as authorities in Beijing attempt to balance the need for more information with their goal of controlling content as a means of sustaining power. However, as China’s economy thrives, the media is also finds itself undergoing a process of commercialisation resulting in growing competition, increased content, and as a result, a greater number of advertisers. A government report in 2008 indicated that China houses 374 television stations, eight thousand magazines and more than two thousand newspapers. Although only state agencies can own media in China, the internet has encouraged privatization as outlets subcontract small operations to the private sector.
A report in 2007 by watchdog group ‘Reporters without borders’ ranked China 163 out of 168 countries in its index of press freedom. While the nation’s constitution affords its press and citizens freedom of speech, it also states that “the security, honour and interests of the motherland” should be defended. Subsequently, material published in newsrooms or online that is deemed dangerous to state security can be censored, and journalists prosecuted or imprisoned.
Several bodies are responsible for reviewing and enforcing laws related to information flowing into, and leaving China. Essentially, there are two censoring agencies, the first is the General Administration of Press and Publication (GAPP) which acts as a licenser and has the power to shut down newspapers. Secondly, the State Administration of Radio, Film and Television (SARFT) has authority over websites, films and broadcast outlets. The most powerful body is the Communist Party’s Central Propaganda Department (CPD) which overlooks all content to ensure it remains consistent with party doctrine. Its influence is most notable through Xinhua, a national news agency which is used primarily as a means of propaganda, and thus made no mention of protests in Tibet prior to the Olympics, for fear of losing party control.
According to ‘Reporters without Borders’ the most common punishment is to dismiss or demote editors or journalists who publish anti-governmental articles. Alternatively, the Communist Party has sued media outlets for libel and even closed news organisations. A Chinese newspaper, ‘The People’s Daily’ claimed that in 2004 alone, over three-hundred publications were shut down for printing internal information.
In August 2007, China passed the ‘Emergency Response Law’ which banned the spread of information detailing riots and disasters. Media agencies that ignored the law were at risk of a hefty fine. In the most extreme cases, authorities have imprisoned reporters with the intention of creating a chilling effect on press freedom. A report by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) revealed that China imprisoned twenty-nine journalists in 2007, the World’s largest amount of the ninth year in succession. Almost 70% of the jailed reporters were arrested for material published online. The country limits what can be viewed on the internet by using technology built in a national web infrastructure of up to fifty-thousand monitors, dubbed the ‘Great Firewall of China’. The process enables the CPD to block web pages such as international news sites, Google, pornography and anti-government blogs. In fact, the Beijing police department has a dedicated department of around fifty-thousand people whose job it is to monitor the web. According to BBC News reports in 2003, the government closed down forty-seven thousand internet cafes in an attempt to maintain control of cyberspace.
China’s aggressive censorship policy creates difficulties for multinational corporations who are desperate to invest in the lucrative online market in China, but in doing so must abide by the government’s rules. Since 2002, Internet providers have been forced to signed pledges to monitor and self-censor their networks before they receive permission to operate in China. In 2004, BBC News revealed that Yahoo officials had supplied Chinese authorities with information which was used to track down and convict an online journalist, Shi Tao, who had published information about government restrictions relating to the Tiananmen Square anniversary. More recently, in 2008 Reuter’s news agency reported that a Chinese democracy activist and party leader, Quo Quan, threatened to sue Google for excising his name from local search results.
Chinese officials now view the internet as the biggest threat to their stronghold of power. Despite issuing frequent regulations, the CPD is finding it difficult to govern information published on the web. This is because many different organisations including central and local agencies are responsible for monitoring online activities, leaving the majority unclear as to who commands jurisdiction over the internet. This has impacted positively and negatively on citizens and press using new media. While more news and information has managed to escape the filters, the government has responded with harsher, more extreme disciplinary procedures.
Author Yuezhi Zhao describes several recent incidents as the government strives to censor the press. “The party principles are constantly being reinforced as the CPD struggles to maintain control of the media. A Chinese blogger, Weng Wei, was beaten to death by authorities merely for the crime of attempting to record a protest on his mobile phone… the attack was brutally efficient… lasting no more than three minutes.” This is just one example of many, in which journalists are convicted for obtaining sensitive information. In July 2008, Liu Shaokun was sentenced to an insane asylum for posting photos of collapsed schools online. In the same month, Huang Qi was shot dead after discussing local protests with foreign press.
But the internet, particularly in the wake of the Beijing Olympics, has also served to create greater transparency with the government, and is proving vital in holding the authorities to account. In 2007, the CPD signed a decree allowing foreign journalists to report without permits during the Beijing games. Although China was praised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), critics accused China of breaking its promise after reports that 180 foreign reporters had been detained or attacked during the relaxed regulations. Websites in the Olympic press room were filtered, including iTunes after it had emerged some journalists and athletes were downloading a pro-tibetan album featuring the likes of Sting and Moby!
The rapidly developing blogosphere in China has enabled journalists to post anonymously, using subtle political satire to criticize the government. Reporters covering issues that their editor’s won’t publish will post stories online, where the news is re-hashed and copied onto British and American sites, even if the original post is removed. Blogger Jing Wang predicts online press freedom “will expand to meet the needs and demands not just of the government but of the society.” This was evident when news websites revealed officials had suppressed information about the 2003 SARS outbreak in Beijing. They criticised government response and in doing so forced the Chinese Supreme People’s Court to overturn the ruling of a local court, the first time this had occurred since the Communist Party rose to power in 1949.
China’s online community helped to expose corruption, revealing the names of four government members involved in an alleged murder cover-up. The authorities had no choice but to sack the culprits and Xinhua were forced to cover the event almost immediately, in contrast to past practices of delaying for days. One Chinese blogger, Zhou Shuguang explained on his site, www.zuola.com, why blogging was having such a positive impact. "The content is often political, but not directly political, in the sense that you are not advocating anything, but at the same time you are undermining the ideological basis of power." An example was served up in the build-up to the Beijing games, when five mascot figures were unveiled by the game’s organisers. The mascots were praised in the media, but scorned online in blogs and forums, in what seemed to be a more accurate reflection of public opinion.
So what does the future hold for China, and is the internet and new media helping to break down the walls built by the Chinese Government? As China’s influence on the global market grows, so will the pressures on the Beijing authorities to allow the flow of information across the borders. A Congress bill in the U.S pushing for ‘internet freedom’ is set to penalize media-restricting nations should it become law later this year, another indication of the World frowning upon the CPD’s actions. If China wishes to maintain commercial relations with countries like America, the government may have to relax its strict censoring laws. The benefits are obvious, increased overseas advertising, cash investments from multinationals and a greater diversity in news content available to their citizens.
China is moving in the right direction, albeit slowly, with the internet-warriors holding the government to account, and enabling greater transparency between media and authorities. There is still a long way to go; it will take time for China to break a habit that has lasted for hundreds of years. Yet Beijing officials are beginning to realize that true public opinion is not to be found on television or in newspapers, but online. This progress was underlined when the Communist Party leader, Hu Jintao, engaged in a web chat as part of a national newspaper’s sixtieth birthday. This marked a symbolic milestone, the first a senior official had publicly engaged with internet users, and the first real indication that the party has recognized the web as a crucial source of public information and opinion.
But the internet, particularly in the wake of the Beijing Olympics, has also served to create greater transparency with the government, and is proving vital in holding the authorities to account. In 2007, the CPD signed a decree allowing foreign journalists to report without permits during the Beijing games. Although China was praised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), critics accused China of breaking its promise after reports that 180 foreign reporters had been detained or attacked during the relaxed regulations. Websites in the Olympic press room were filtered, including iTunes after it had emerged some journalists and athletes were downloading a pro-tibetan album featuring the likes of Sting and Moby!
The rapidly developing blogosphere in China has enabled journalists to post anonymously, using subtle political satire to criticize the government. Reporters covering issues that their editor’s won’t publish will post stories online, where the news is re-hashed and copied onto British and American sites, even if the original post is removed. Blogger Jing Wang predicts online press freedom “will expand to meet the needs and demands not just of the government but of the society.” This was evident when news websites revealed officials had suppressed information about the 2003 SARS outbreak in Beijing. They criticised government response and in doing so forced the Chinese Supreme People’s Court to overturn the ruling of a local court, the first time this had occurred since the Communist Party rose to power in 1949.
China’s online community helped to expose corruption, revealing the names of four government members involved in an alleged murder cover-up. The authorities had no choice but to sack the culprits and Xinhua were forced to cover the event almost immediately, in contrast to past practices of delaying for days. One Chinese blogger, Zhou Shuguang explained on his site, www.zuola.com, why blogging was having such a positive impact. "The content is often political, but not directly political, in the sense that you are not advocating anything, but at the same time you are undermining the ideological basis of power." An example was served up in the build-up to the Beijing games, when five mascot figures were unveiled by the game’s organisers. The mascots were praised in the media, but scorned online in blogs and forums, in what seemed to be a more accurate reflection of public opinion.
So what does the future hold for China, and is the internet and new media helping to break down the walls built by the Chinese Government? As China’s influence on the global market grows, so will the pressures on the Beijing authorities to allow the flow of information across the borders. A Congress bill in the U.S pushing for ‘internet freedom’ is set to penalize media-restricting nations should it become law later this year, another indication of the World frowning upon the CPD’s actions. If China wishes to maintain commercial relations with countries like America, the government may have to relax its strict censoring laws. The benefits are obvious, increased overseas advertising, cash investments from multinationals and a greater diversity in news content available to their citizens.
China is moving in the right direction, albeit slowly, with the internet-warriors holding the government to account, and enabling greater transparency between media and authorities. There is still a long way to go; it will take time for China to break a habit that has lasted for hundreds of years. Yet Beijing officials are beginning to realize that true public opinion is not to be found on television or in newspapers, but online. This progress was underlined when the Communist Party leader, Hu Jintao, engaged in a web chat as part of a national newspaper’s sixtieth birthday. This marked a symbolic milestone, the first a senior official had publicly engaged with internet users, and the first real indication that the party has recognized the web as a crucial source of public information and opinion.
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