The China Media Project has translated an editorial from the China Youth Daily titled, “Respecting the rights of the media does not mean making it your footservant” (see original Chinese version). From an introductory note on CMP:
Since the 1990s, commercialization has been the primary impetus for change in China’s media landscape, but the public interest strain of journalism persists, seeking opportunities in an unpredictable political environment.
The latest salvo in this ongoing struggle, an editorial by veteran journalist and former CMP fellow Yan Lieshan, takes advantage of the opportunity afforded by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao’s recent statements on March 16 — that China “must create conditions such as to allow the people to supervise and criticize the government” — to argue strongly for an independent monitoring role for the news media based on mutual respect between officials and journalists. This method, frequently used by Chinese media to address sensitive issues,is called jieti fahui, or, translated roughly, “using a current topic of conversation to put out one’s own ideas”. [Full text]
