From Asia Times:
Trying to rein in reporters straining at the leash of censorship, Beijing is drafting a law that will impose heavy fines for unauthorized news of big disasters and social unrest. Wang Yongqing, vice minister of the legislative affairs office of the State Council, insisted the law would improve news by ordering officials to release information quickly while ensuring journalists reported accurately.
Trouble is, officials down in the provinces and counties are stuck in their ways, which usually means keeping hushed up anything that might do their careers or business deals damage. Nor does the central government set a particularly transparent example. Secrecy is still the default modus operandi. Bureaucrats can declare just about anything a state secret, including, so far, much of the proposed Law on Response to Contingencies. [Full text]
Read also:
– “This just in: [censored],” an editorial from the Los Angeles Times on the proposed emergency response law
– “China’s emergency response law draws controversy” from Caijing Magazine
– A commentary from the Non-Violent Resistance blog.
