The following censorship instructions, issued to the media by government authorities, have been leaked and distributed online. The name of the issuing body has been omitted to protect the source.
All websites in all locales: Absolutely do not hype negative information about the APEC summit in Beijing, and take care to delete related negative commentary. (November 5, 2014)
各地各网站，有关目前北京APEC峰会负面信息一律不炒作，注意查删相关的负面评论。 [Chinese]
In preparation for the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Beijing this week, the city has sent workers and students on vacation, imposed driving restrictions, and banned Halloween costumes from the subway, all in an effort to keep the city quiet and clean for the international meetings. At Quartz, Lily Kuo reports that shutting down the capital isn’t going so well, with air pollution still high and residents disgruntled.
In a deleted comment captured by FreeWeibo, Weibo user 朱伟 complains about these inconveniences, which apparently include shutting down heating utilities:
朱伟: Sure, Beijing is quiet, but everyday life has stopped. The city isn’t itself. Put the summit on a desert island already. (November 4, 2014)
是，北京安静了，但日常生活阻止了，城市就没了本来面貎。把会放到孤岛上开吧。 [Chinese]
Read more complaints scrubbed from Weibo at CDT Chinese.
Since directives are sometimes communicated orally to journalists and editors, who then leak them online, the wording published here may not be exact. The date given may indicate when the directive was leaked, rather than when it was issued. CDT does its utmost to verify dates and wording, but also takes precautions to protect the source.
