A source close to Guangdong’s provincial government said Wang Genghui, a deputy editor-in-chief of Nanfang Media Group, which owns the newspaper, had taken over from Huang Can, Southern Weekly’s editor-in-chief since 2009. Huang had been sidelined and was likely to be transferred to another post in the group.

“Wang has a rather popular image as he is more willing to listen to editors and journalists,” the source said. “But this is likely to be a transitional role to restore normal operation at the newspaper as soon as possible.”

This week’s newspaper included a veiled protest saying that editorial procedures should be respected and made corrections – a typographical error, the erroneous numbering of the edition and a factual flaw that said flood control work by “Yu the Great” happened 2,000 years ago, instead of 4,000 years ago.

A comment below the corrections, signed by editorial staff, read: “Newspaper mistakes are always in black and white. In every link of editing and publishing a newspaper, its standard processes should always be respected and followed. We have never been more keenly aware of this.”

A report at Japan’s Asahi Shimbun, meanwhile, described Xi Jinping’s alleged displeasure at propaganda chief Liu Yunshan’s handling of the affair. Though the account is based on information from unnamed sources, Bill Bishop commented in his Sinocism newsletter that “[I] hear from other reporters that this report could be credible, that this paper has had other scoops recently..if true then very interesting.” One sign of the report’s accuracy might come in or after March when, it predicts, Guangdong propaganda chief Tuo Zhen will be removed from his post.

At a meeting in Zhongnanhai in Beijing on the night of Jan. 9, Xi, visibly displeased, asked if the media control division was not adding to confusion, sources familiar with the discussions said.

[…] Liu had decided to impose penalties, including dismissals, against editors and reporters who disobeyed the order. But Xi gave instructions not to punish journalists who protested the propaganda department, according to a party source formerly involved in media control.

Xi has apparently attempted to contain the fallout even by accepting demands from Southern Weekly reporters.

He decided to remove the chief of the propaganda department of the Guangdong provincial party committee, who led prior screening of the Southern Weekly.

The official is not expected to leave the post until at least March, when the National People’s Congress is scheduled to convene, because an immediate removal would reveal confusion within the party.

In particular, Xi reportedly suggested, Liu’s order for other outlets to republish a Global Times editorial expressing the Party line had turned a local problem into a wider one. (The order was conveyed by a Central Propaganda Department directive obtained and published by CDT.) Certainly, it spread the stand-off as far as Southern Weekly’s half-sister, the Beijing News, which initially refused to republish the article at all, and eventually buried an abbreviated version under a non-committal headline deep within the paper. At Reuters, Sui-Lee Wee described what had threatened to become the Beijing News’ last stand:

“This is the first time in China’s history, with the exception of June 4th, that there’s been such a large-scale collective protest by Chinese journalists against the central government’s propaganda department’s restrictions and suppression,” said Cheng Yizhong, who co-founded the Beijing News with Dai [Zhigeng], referring to the Tiananmen Square protests.

But Cheng said he expected no improvement in freedoms, predicting authorities would try to pre-empt any direct challenges by strengthening controls over social media. Cheng was arrested in 2004 on embezzlement charges that his supporters said were politically motivated. He was later released.

The editor at the Beijing News said management had warned staff not to talk about the incident, especially to foreign reporters, who “could make the higher-ups lose face”.

“It’s possible that after this, they might settle scores.”

© Samuel Wade for China Digital Times (CDT), 2013. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Asahi Shimbun, Beijing News, Cheng Yizhong, Guangdong, June 4th, Liu Yunshan, media censorship, news media, newspapers, press freedom, Southern Media Group, Southern Weekly, southern weekly protest 2013, Tuo Zhen, Xi Jinping
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“We sincerely hope [Beijing News] can faithfully record the progress of our time, speak for the people… and serve its duty in promoting [social] progress, good governance with rule of law, and a civilised society,” Dai said.

Police cars were seen outside the newspaper office yesterday, a sign that the authorities were concerned that journalists might stage a protest or that members of the public might rally in their support, one source said.

[…] Beijing News, along with Southern Weekly and Southern Metropolis Daily, are among the most respected newspapers on the mainland because of their outspoken comments and reports on sensitive issues.

After its transfer to the direct control of the Beijing party committee in 2011, there were widespread fears that the newspaper’s bold reporting would be reined in, and that did appear to be the case last year.

Various accounts have emerged of the struggle over the editorial’s republication. The New York Times quoted an online posting by one journalist at the paper: “Some people look sad; some burst into tears; some shout that they are going to quit. We don’t want to kneel down, but our knees have been shattered. We are kneeling down this one time while gnashing our teeth.” A longer account appeared at China Real Time Report:

Yesterday we all felt happy and proud that our leaders had decided not to reprint the editorial. We thought if only we could stand firm for a couple more hours, this situation would go away.

Later we realized that the pressure really was huge. Propaganda officials were all waiting for the results. No matter how it appeared, the editorial had to be published.

When Mr. Dai and the other leaders saw that all of our journalists and editors had rushed back from home, they called us into a meeting room and asked for our opinions. Everyone said they were opposed to publishing the editorial. We discussed the worst-case scenario if we refused to publish it – maybe we wouldn’t be able to put out the paper at all. According to coworkers who understood the situation, this was a result the higher-ups [in the propaganda department] would be willing to see happen. When everyone heard this, the room fell silent. [Starts to cry]

[…] [Sobbing] I don’t think we compromised. We did everything we can do.

As far as the question of Mr. Dai resigning, I personally can’t represent him, but when he and Ms. Wang were discussing things with us they mentioned resignation, and according to one of the top leaders who was in meetings, Mr. Dai and Ms. Wang verbally threatened to resign in front of the propaganda authorities. What changes will take place with our newspaper’s management in the end, right now nobody knows.

Like other reluctant republishers, the Beijing News also issued a thinly veiled message of support for Southern Weekly: in this case, a love letter to southern-style congee porridge. From David Bandurski at China Media Project:

In Chinese, the word for “porridge,” zhou (粥), is a homophone of the first character in “weekend,” zhoumo (周末), the second half of Southern Weekly‘s publication name. The shorthand for Southern Weekly is nanzhou (南周), which sounds very similar to “porridge of the south,” or nanfang de zhou (南方的粥).

[…] Hot porridge in an earthen pot, hailing from [China's] southland. Just placed upon the table, the porridge writhes still with heat. Perhaps it has a heart of courage yet. In the deep of the cold night, you open your mouth and white steam billows. There are so many troubles in this world, and all you can count on for warmth is this bowl of porridge.

On Twitter, Gianluigi Negro pointed out a previous gesture of defiance from the paper after it was forced to condemn America’s role in Chen Guangcheng’s escape last year. As China Media Project reported at the time, an enigmatic apology subsequently appeared on the newspaper’s official Sina Weibo account, comprising a black and white photo of a smoking clown, and the message: “In the still of the deep night, removing that mask of insincerity, we say to our true selves, ‘I am sorry.’ Goodnight.”

© Samuel Wade for China Digital Times (CDT), 2013. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Beijing News, censorship, chinese food, David Bandurski, Global Times, propaganda, Southern Media Group, Southern Weekly, southern weekly protest 2013
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Dai Zigeng speaking to Beijing News staff last night.

As of January 8, the following search terms are blocked on Sina Weibo (not including the “search for user” function).

- Beijing News president (新京报社长)
- XJB: Pinyin abbreviation for Beijing News (Xin Jing Bao). The name of the paper itself (新京报) is still searchable as of posting.
- Dai Zigeng (戴自更): Unblocked as of this posting.
- President Dai (戴社长)
- president + resign (社长+辞职)
- Beijing News + resign (新京报+辞职)
- reprint Global [Times] (转载环球)

See also Sensitive Words updates from January 3, January 4, January 6, and January 7.

All Chinese-language words are tested using simplified characters. The same terms in traditional characters occasionally return different results.

Browse all of CDT’s collected sensitive words in this bilingual Google spreadsheet.

CDT Chinese runs a project that crowd-sources filtered keywords on Sina Weibo search. CDT independently tests the keywords before posting them, but some searches later become accessible again. We welcome readers to contribute to this project so that we can include the most up-to-date information. To add words, check out the form at the bottom of CDT Chinese’s latest sensitive words post.

© Anne.Henochowicz for China Digital Times (CDT), 2013. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Beijing News, censorship, Dai Zigeng, filtered keywords, Global Times, Internet censorship, media censorship, Ministry of Truth, press freedom, Sensitive Words Series, sina weibo, Southern Weekly, southern weekly protest 2013, weibo
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Even as the deal became public, the controversy spread to one of Southern Weekly’s sister papers, the Beijing News. A propaganda directive obtained earlier by CDT ordered newspapers and websites to prominently republish a Global Times editorial blaming the dispute on foreign forces rather than local officials. Some complied, adding disclaimers to distance themselves from the article and peppering their sites with barely hidden messages of support for Southern Weekly. The Beijing News did not. From David Bandurski at China Media Project:

According to one version of yesterday’s events, The Beijing News received a visit from a Beijing city-level propaganda official after it refused to publish the Global Times editorial, which appeared in many papers across the country (and had been pasted across the internet the day before). The official reportedly threatened to dissolve the newspaper if it did not comply with the central-level order to run the Global Times piece.

After receiving this warning, The Beijing News held a staff vote to decide whether or not to comply with the propaganda order. The vote was in favor of “not reprinting” (拒绝转载). Soon after, Dai Zigeng submitted his resignation to local propaganda authorities and the mood inside the paper was reportedly dismal, with many staffers in tears.

Global Voices’ Oiwan Lam collected and translated online postings on the episode by Beijing News employees, among others.

@宇过天新 Tonight, I remember every one of our tears, remember the unanimous democratic vote against the re-printing [of the editorial], remember the sobbing sound in the layout room, remember every single sigh, remember the sound of the beer can being opened, remember everyone standing still, remember ourcolleagues expectation, remember all the brothers who appeared at the newsroom upon receiving the call. Please remember tonight’s humiliation. Let’s remember all of it.

@刘刚在路上: I will live and die with Beijing News. Old Dai resigned, I will follow him, giving up journalism altogether.

@uponsnow explained what is the meaning of dissolving the newspaper:

The meaning of dissolving is not closing down. It means suspending, purging and reopening. In other words, all the staff who do not agree will be fired and the style of Beijing News will be totally different [when it reprints].

Another comment suggested that newspapers associated with the Southern Media Group, which owns Southern Weekly, had been somewhat singled out over the Global Times editorial. One of them, the Xiaoxiang Morning Post, printed it alongside a large ad for a pest exterminator, according to South China Morning Post’s John Kennedy. Beijing News, when it eventually relented, did so grudgingly, with a truncated version buried deep within the paper under an uneffusive headline:

Beijing News renamed the GT editorial: “Global Times published an editorial about ‘the Southern Weekly incident’” twitter.com/28wordslater/s…

— John Kennedy (@28wordslater) January 9, 2013

On Sina Weibo, censorship of the Beijing News story seemed even heavier than in the Southern Weekly case, as the editor of the Chinese Wall Street Journal Li Yuan noted:

Censors are much stricter with the Beijing News publisher resignation news than Southern Weekend. Impossible to tweet with any variation.

— Li Yuan (@LiYuan6) January 9, 2013

Update: The New York Times’ Edward Wong, who had previously noted uncertainty about details of the Beijing News case, tweets that Dai may still be the newspaper’s publisher:

I just heard that Dai Zigeng is still the publisher of Beijing News. Talk of his departure was premature?

— Edward Wong (@comradewong) January 9, 2013

© Samuel Wade for China Digital Times (CDT), 2013. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Beijing News, censorship, David Bandurski, Directives from the Ministry of Truth, Global Times, journalism, journalists, media conditions, propaganda, sina weibo, Southern Media Group, Southern Weekly, southern weekly protest 2013
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The translations are by Rogier Creemers of China Copyright and Media.

1 September 2006, 18:54, Chen Hua

Everyone, concerning the incident of Fujitsu and First Finance, do not play it up, water it down as soon as possible, existing articles and special subjects are to be pushed to the backstage, no longer issue new copy, forums and blogs are no longer to organize new discussions, subsequent reporting will be arranged uniformly.

1 September 2006, 11:18, Huang Jing

Reinforcement and reconstruction works will start shortly on the Xizhimen Bridge on the Second Ring Road in Beijing. Municipal news media will, starting from today, issue information and reports concerning this every day for two weeks.

Websites may not actively post corresponding information on forums or start discussions. Discussions and articles concerning project quality, backward planning and caused traffic jams may not emerge on forums, blogs and other interactive segments.

All websites are requested to give this high attention, and must implement matters according to requirements.

1 September 2006, 16:34, Mx, Huang Jing

All websites: Please search for and immediately delete two pieces of information on forums blogs: (1) the content and content extracts from the book Mein Kampf, written by Hitler; (2) The workers’ strike at Henan Xinxiang Xinfei Electric.

3 September 2006, 10:49, Lu Chao

Today is 3 September, the remembrance day of victory in the War to Resist Japan, please strengthen supervision and control over sensitive information involving Japan, if mobilizing information concerning demonstrations or assemblies, etc., emerges, inform our office by telephone, 85223522.

Lu Chao

3 September 2006, 12:56, Bai Jie

All websites are requested to pay attention: The matter of Mu Zimei’s marriage may not be put on the front pages of websites, news centers, forums and all channels, etc.

6 September 2006, 11:15, Chai Yue

All search engines: Please immediately make the following words into keywords for screening: “Background to the CCP Second Artillery Personnel Changes: Inside Secrecy and Corruption to the Bottom,” “Yu Jixin,” “Zhang Yuting,” “Wang Jiurong,” “Peng Xiaofeng.”

6 September 2006, 18:04, Chai Yue

All websites: Please do not transmit the article “Capital Construction Unveils Plan for ‘Morgan’ Land,” published on 6 September by the Beijing News, websites who have already transmitted it are requested to immediately delete this article. At the same time, all search engines are requested to make “Capital Construction Unveils Plan for ‘Morgan’ Land” into a keyword for screening.

6 September 2006, 18:30, Chai Yue

All websites, in the near future, relevant Center work units will go to Beijing City to inspect the situation of websites running the web in a civilized manner. All websites are requested to earnestly deal with this inspection, and conduct a clean-up of the complete content of their websites within five days, starting from tomorrow. It must be achieved that the main page of websites and the main pages of all channels do not contain unhealthy content. Areas where unhealthy content is published often, such as “women,” “both sexes,” “picture bars,” “health,” “emotions,” “reading,” “women,” “forums,” etc., must be earnestly cleaned up, and the situation of an overall lowering in style cannot occur. Our office will also launch special inspections, and require the closure of channels and columns that do not meet the requirements of running the web in a civilized manner. All websites are requested to give high regard to this special clean-up.

7 September 2006, 8:52, Chai Yue

Today, it is permitted to push the special subject “Paying Tribute to the Loveliest People” to the back stage.

7 September 2006, 14:40, Chai Yue

All websites: Please close trackers concerning the article “Central Military Commission Strictly Deals with Responsible Persons for Two Transport Plane Crash Accidents.”

2006年9月北京网管办发出的禁令（一）

2006年9月1日18时54分 陈华

各位，关于富士通与第一财经事件，不炒作，尽快淡化，现有稿件、专题压后台，不再发新稿，论坛、博客不再组织新讨论，后续报道将统一安排。
2006年9月1日11时18分黄婧

北京二环路西直门桥加固改造工程将于近期开工。市属新闻媒体将从今天开始连续两周每天发布相关消息和通告。

网站不要在论坛上主动帖发相关消息、发起讨论。论坛、博客等互动环节，不要出现围绕工程质量、设计落后、造成拥堵的讨论和文章。

请各网高度重视，务必按要求执行。
2006年9月1日16时34分 网管办黄婧

各网:请在论坛、博客环节内，查找并立即删除两个信息： 1、希特勒所写《我的奋斗》一书的内容及内容节录； 2、河南新乡新飞电器工人罢工
2006年9月3日10时49分 卢超

今天是9月3日，抗日战争胜利纪念日，请加强涉日敏感信息监控，如发现游行集会等行动性信息，打电话告我处，85223522 卢超
2006年9月3日12时56分 白洁

各网站请注意，木子美征婚一事不要放在网站、新闻中心、论坛和各频道等的首页.
2006年9月6日11时15分 柴玥

各搜索引擎：请立即将以下几词设为关键词屏蔽??“中共二炮人事变动的背后：黑幕重重腐败到底”、“于际训”、“张余亭”、“王久荣”、“彭小枫”。
2006年9月6日18时04分柴玥

各网：请不要转载9月6日《新京报》刊发的《首创公布“摩根”地块规划》一稿，已经转载的网站请立即删除此稿。同时，各搜索引擎请将“首创公布“摩根”地块规划”设为关键词屏蔽。
2006年9月6日18时30分 柴玥

各网：近期，中央有关单位将到北京市检查网站的文明办网情况。请各网务必认真对待此次检查，于明天开始用5天时间，对自己网站的内容全面进行清理。 务必做到网站首页，各频道首页没有不健康的内容。对于“女性”、“两性”、“图吧”、“健康”、“情感”、“读书”、“女性”、“论坛”等不健康内容高发 区域，要认真清理，不能出现整体格调的低下的情况。我办也将展开专项检查，对达不到文明办网要求的频道、栏目将要求其关闭。请各网要高度重视此次专项清 理。
2006年9月7日8时52分 柴玥

各网：今天可以将《向最可爱的人致敬》专题压到后台
2006年9月7日14时40分 柴玥

各网：请关闭《中央军委严肃处理运输机坠毁等两起事故责任人 》一稿的跟帖

These translated directives were first posted by Rogier Creemers on China Copyright and Media on December 5, 2012 (here).

© Anne.Henochowicz for China Digital Times (CDT), 2012. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Bai Jie, Beijing, Beijing Internet Instructions, Beijing News, CCP, censorship, Censorship Vault, Chai Yue, Chen Hua, Directives from the Ministry of Truth, Fujitsu, Henan, Internet censorship, Japan, Lu Chao, Ministry of Truth, mu zimei
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The translations are by Rogier Creemers of China Copyright and Media.

21 April 2006, Beijing Municipal Information Office, Fan Tao

Everyone, concerning the matter of Beijing taxi price adjustment, only use copy from the Beijing Daily and Evening News, other content is to be deleted without exception, forums may not have too much extreme discussions (such as a taxi ride strike, etc.).

21 April 2006, (Friday), 18:27

All websites are requested to rapidly delete all articles sourced from the Jinghua Daily, the Beijing News and the Huaxia Times concerning the Beijing taxi price adjustment, please acknowledge receipt, thank you.

19 April 2006, (Wednesday), 11:41

It is stressed again that the following must be implemented: the matter of the Beijing taxi price increase, is not to be published in the important news sections, do not open news tracker, do not send short messages, do not make it into a special subject!

18 April 2006, (Tuesday), 10:55

Please lead the special subject about the trend of civilization today with “Youth Who Lost Their Way Accuse Network Poison – 300 Website Editors Are Deeply Shocked,” the speech of Liu Qi may be lowered.

22 April 2006, 23:30, Chen Hua

Everyone, please immediately issue this article in the second or third position on the main page of websites and at the back of the second line on news centers: http://news.qianlong.com/28874/2006/04/22/1160@3134631.htm.

23 April 2006, 12:20, Beijing Municipal Information Office, Fan Tao

(1) Please note: for articles on the important process of Hu Jintao visiting Saudi Arabia, the original titles of Xinhua copy must be used, please immediately restore the original titles of those that have not been done according to requirements.

(2) Please immediately delete the article on there now being 72,000 black cars in Beijing, exceeding legitimate taxis (CCTV “Economic Information Broadcast”).

(3) All websites are requested to speedily reprint the Xinhua Net Article “More than 100 Website Jointly Sweep Away ‘Network Garbage’” and put it in the header position of the special subject section on greatly initiating the trend of network civilization (http://news.xinhuanet.com/it/2006-04/22/content_4460131.htm).

24 April 2006 (Monday), 14:38

Everyone, keep in mid to link with the People Net interview of 3:00, in a high position in the news section on the front page of websites and the second position in the news center, http://www.people.com.cn/GB/32306/33093/62957/index.html.

24 April 2006, 19:00, Beijing Municipal Information Office, Fan Tao

Please delete “Jinan Baoquan Water Project’s Imported Anti-Permeation Film Triggers Intense Dispute.” Please acknowledge receipt, thank you.

26 April 2006, 10:00, Beijing Municipal Information Office, Fan Tao

To report the Beijing taxi price adjustment hearing, please use the wire copy from Qianlong Net of this afternoon; at the same time, the content of trackers and forum discussions must be managed well – netizens are permitted to fully express all kinds of views, but are not permitted to have tracker or forum posts attacking and abusing the government. Please acknowledge receipt, thank you.

26 April 2006, 14:16

Qianlong Net will publish the text “Beijing Organizes Hearing on Taxi Price Adjustment” in a little while, Qianlong Net will put it in the header position, but all other websites are requested to put it in the middle of the important news section when reprinting it, and the title may not be changed without exception. Trackers must be managed well, netizens are permitted to express all sorts of opinions and viewpoints, posts attacking or abusing the government must be firmly deleted.

27 April 2006, 7:00, Beijing Municipal Information Office, Fan Tao

All websites are requested to immediately close trackers on the articles concerning the Beijing taxi price adjustments, forums are no longer to discuss this, please acknowledge receipt, thank you.

27 April 2006, 8:00, Beijing Municipal Information Office, Fan Tao

For articles on the Beijing taxi price adjustment, only copy from the Beijing Daily and Qianlong Net can be used, articles from Beijing News, Jinghua Times and other sources may not be used without exception, remember this well.

27 April 2006 (Thursday), 10:53, Beijing Municipal Information Office, Fan Tao

Please close trackers on the Fengtai forestry bureau vice-director and his wife being killed.

27 April 2006 (Thursday), 18:02, Beijing Municipal Information Office, Fan Tao

The article on the Chinese ambassador in Japan being enthusiastically welcomed on his first visit to Okinawa, contains mistakes. Please speedily delete it. Please acknowledge receipt, thank you.

28 April 2006, 9:00, Beijing Municipal Information Office, Fan Tao

Many netizens responded to the article to unite nationally and not buy houses (Southern News Net), please immediately delete it. Please acknowledge receipt, thank you.

28 April 2006 (Friday), 13:50, Beijing Municipal Information Office, Fan Tao

Notice from Fan Tao: please link to the Xinhua Net online symposium on “Using the Web in a Civilized Manner: Start a New Wind of Network Civilization” on the main page of websites and the header of the special subject section for starting the new wind of network civilization. The URL is as follows: http://forum.xinhuanet.com/detail.jsp?id=29885982. Please acknowledge receipt, thank you.

28 April 2006, Beijing Municipal Information Office, Fan Tao

All websites are requested to pay attention to: please delete information on forums, blogs and military frequencies concerning images of new-generation (or next-generation) military uniforms as soon as possible. Please acknowledge receipt, thank you.

28 April 2006, 23:21:27, Beijing Municipal Information Office, Fan Tao

(1) Please issue this article in the news section on the main page of websites and on the second or third line in the important news section: http://news.qianlong.com/28874/2006/04/28/1160@3148109.htm.

(2) Please notify search engines to screen the names of the six websites that were closed today according to the law: Happy Sex Forum, Moon Goddess Net, Shenzhen Discussion Area, Free Film Forum, Adult Story Net and Entertainment Information Port.

29 April 2006, 10:57, Beijing Municipal Information Office, Fan Tao

Please add “Blog Net” to the scope of comparing and assessing the text “The Beijing Municipality Launches Comparing and Assessment Activities on Model Civilization Websites,” and at the same time change the original “42 websites” into “43 websites” in the announcement (Paragraph 1).

 

2006年4月北京网管办发出的禁令（三）

2006年4月21日 时 分 北京市新闻办公室 范涛

各位，关于北京出租车调价一事，只用北京日报、晚报稿，其他一律删除，论坛不要有太多过激言论I（如罢乘等）

2006-4-21 (星期五) 18:27

请各网迅速删除稿源为《京华时报》、《新京报》、《华夏时报》有关北京出租车调价的所有稿件，收到请回复，谢谢。

2006-4-19 (星期三) 11:41

再次强调务必执行：北京出租车涨价的事，不发要闻区，不开跟帖，不发短信，不做专题！

2006-4-18 (星期二) 10:55

今天的文明之风专题请以《失足少年控诉网络毒害 三百网站编辑深受震撼》做头条，刘淇讲话可以往下放了。

2006年4月22日23时30 分 陈华

各位，请即在网站首页新闻区二，三条位置和新闻中心首页二条小腿的位置发此稿http://news.qianlong.com/28874/2006/04/22/1160@3134631.htm

2006年4月23日12时20 分 北京市新闻办公室 范涛

1、请注意：胡锦涛访沙特重要程序的稿件，必须用新华社稿原标题，现在未按要求做的，请立即改回原题；

2、北京黑车共达7.2万辆超过正规出租车（央视《经济信息联播》）一稿请立即删除；

3、请各网在大兴网络文明之风专题的头条位置，迅速转载新华网文章《100余家网站联合清扫“网络垃圾”》（http://news.xinhuanet.com/it/2006-04/22/content_4460131.htm）

2006-4-24 (星期一) 14:38

各位，想着做好3：00人民网访谈的链接 网站首页新闻区高处 新闻中心二条

http://www.people.com.cn/GB/32306/33093/62957/index.html

2006年4月24日19时分 北京市新闻办公室 范涛

济南保泉水工程引进防渗膜引发激烈争议(组图)——请予删除。收到请回复，谢谢。

2006年4月26日10 时 分 北京市新闻办公室 范涛

关于北京出租车调价听证会的报道，请务必使用下午千龙网的通稿；同时要管好跟贴、论坛讨论的内容——允许网民充分表达各种观点，但不允许有攻击、谩骂政府的跟贴和论坛贴文。收到请回复，谢谢。

2006-4-26 (星期三) 14:16

千龙网过一会儿将刊登《北京市就出租车租价调整举行听证会》一文，千龙网是放在头条位置，但其它各网在转载时，请放在要闻区中部，一律不要改动标题。要管好跟贴，允许网民充分表达各种意见和观点，要坚决删除攻击、谩骂政府的贴文。

2006年4月27日7 时 分 北京市新闻办公室 范涛

请各网站立即关闭北京出租车调价一稿的跟贴,论坛不再讨论,收到请回复，谢谢。

2006年4月27日8 时 分 北京市新闻办公室 范涛

有关北京出租车调价的稿件,只能用北京日报和千龙网的稿件,新京报、京华时报等其它来源的稿件一律不要用，切记。

2006-4-27 (星期四) 10:53 北京市新闻办公室 范涛

请关闭丰台林业局副局长夫妇被杀害的跟贴。

2006-4-27 (星期四) 18:02 北京市新闻办公室 范涛

中国驻日大使首次正式访问冲绳获热情欢迎一稿，有误。请迅速删除。收到请回复，谢谢。

2006年4月28日9 时 分 北京市新闻办公室 范涛
众多网民响应全国结盟不买房呼吁(南方新闻网)一稿,请予删除.收到请回复，谢谢。

2006-4-28 (星期五) 13:50 北京市新闻办公室 范涛

范涛通知：请在网站首页、大兴网络文明之风专题头条位置全文链接新华网“文明上网：大兴网络文明新风”网上座谈会。网址如下：http://forum.xinhuanet.com/detail.jsp?id=29885982

收到请回复，谢谢。

2006年4月28日时 分 北京市新闻办公室 范涛

请各网站注意：请尽快删除在论坛、博客、军事频道中关于新一代（或称下一代）军服图片的信息。收到请回复，谢谢。

2006-04-28 23:21:27 北京市新闻办公室 范涛

1． 请在网站首页新闻区和新闻中心首页要闻区第二条或第三第发此稿http://news.qianlong.com/28874/2006/04/28/1160@3148109.htm

2． 请通知搜索将今天依法关闭的6家网站名字屏蔽：性福论坛、月神网、深圳讨论区、免费电影论坛、成人小说网、娱乐信息港

2006年4月29日10时 57 分 北京市新闻办公室 范涛

请在《北京市开展文明示范网站评比活动》一文的评比范围中加入“博客网”，同时在启事（第一段）中把原来的“42家”改为“43家”。

These translated directives were first posted by Rogier Creemers on China Copyright and Media on November 22, 2012 (here).

© Anne.Henochowicz for China Digital Times (CDT), 2012. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Beijing, Beijing Daily, Beijing Internet Instructions, Beijing News, Beijing taxi price increase, CCTV, censorship, Censorship Vault, Chen Hua, Directives from the Ministry of Truth, Hu Jintao, Internet censorship, Jinan, Liu Qi, Ministry of Truth, saudi arabia, Shenzhen, Xinhua
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The translations are by Rogier Creemers of China Copyright and Media.

31 March 2006

Information on “Minsheng Bank Aims 3 Million Yuan Credit Limit Card at Vice-Ministerial Level Cadres” is a false report, please do not reprint it, where it has been reprinted, delete it immediately. Please acknowledge receipt, thank you.

30 March 2006

Network Supervision Office notice: everyone: if you see articles concerning the poisoning of the band “Super Mary” (Luo Jing, Han Xuan), if the article attacks the police, delete it.

30 March 2006

Concerning the case of NetEase thanking for a loan in Japanese Yen, the original text may not be distributed, but if there are positive guiding articles on forums, refuting the notion of NetEase’s Japanese Yen loan, they may be distributed and posted on forums, but firmly grasp the extent, they cannot have radical acts, or whatever calls for demonstrations, etc. Attention must also be paid to the fact that reactions in forums concerning this matter cannot be too ardent or animated.

29 March 2006

If reports have already been reprinted about the opening of the trial on the daughter or a Tsinghua University professor being throttled to death by a ticket seller, please delete it immediately.

26 March 2006

The report “Jiangsu Police Hit on the Head with Gun by Colleagues in Bathroom in Violent Attack” is untrue, please delete it immediately.

24 March 2006

Articles that the Information Office notified to be deleted:

(1) Who Burnt the Summer Palace, Has Nothing to Do With Patriotism!

(2) After Chen Yizou Leaves, the Beijing News Does Not Understand Win-Win

22 March 2006

Articles that the Information Office notified to be deleted:

(1) Only Re-Evaluating Mao Zedong Can Strengthen the Masses’ Faith in Reform

(2) “Yang Xiaokai – A Record on Random Thoughts on Chinese Politics”

(3) A Strong Speech by Hu Jintao to Japan that Is Rarely Known by the People!

21 March 2006

(1) Some Japanese members of parliament have inspected the Diaoyu Islands from an airplane, do not report it, forums are also not to discuss it. Please acknowledge receipt, thank you. (Delete)

(2) Please do not reprint the reported text of the Chongqing Morning Times of Chongqing Plans to Build Two More Dams in the Yangtze – The Total Amount of Installations Exceeds the Gezhou Dam, if it has been reprinted, please immediately remove the article. Please acknowledge receipt, thank you. (Delete)

(3) Please delete the text on expert suggestions to change Beijing into a special administrative zone, and expanding the area by eight times. Please acknowledge receipt, thank you.

 

2006年3月北京网管办发出的禁令（三）
2006-03-31
“民生银行300万元透支卡瞄准副部级干部”的消息，为不实报道，请不要转载，已转的立即删除。 收到请回复，谢谢。

2006-03-30

网监处通知：各位：如果见到关于超级玛丽组合（罗惊、韩萱）中毒的文章，如果文中有攻击警察的就删除。
2006-03-30

有关网易感谢日元贷款一事，原文不得放行，但论坛如有正面引导文章，反驳网易日元贷款观念的可以放行，发在论坛，但要把握度，不能有过激行为，什么号召游行呀等。也要注意论坛里关于此事件的反应不能太热烈和激励。
2006-03-29

如已经转载清华大学教授女儿被售票员掐死一案开庭的报道,请立即删除.
2006-03-26

“江苏警察浴室里遭同行枪顶脑袋暴殴”的报道不实，请立即删除。

2006-03-24

新闻办通知删除的文章

1、圆明园是谁烧的，与爱国无关！

2、程益中走后，《新京报》不懂双赢
2006-03-22

网监通知删的文章

1：重新评价毛泽东才能坚定民众改革信心

2：《杨小凯－－中国政治随想录》

3：一段鲜为人知的胡锦涛对日强硬讲话 ！

 

2006-03-21

1.日本几个议员乘飞机视察钓鱼岛，不报道，论坛也不讨论。收到请回复，谢谢。 （删除）

2.《重庆晨报》“重庆拟在长江再建两大坝 装机总量超葛洲坝”一文，请不要转载报道，已转载的请即撤除稿件。收到请回复，谢谢。(删除）

3.专家建议将北京改为特别行政区 面积扩大8倍一文，请予删除。收到请回复，谢谢。

These translated directives were first posted by Rogier Creemers on China Copyright and Media on November 19, 2012 (here).

© Anne.Henochowicz for China Digital Times (CDT), 2012. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Beijing, Beijing Internet Instructions, Beijing News, censorship, Censorship Vault, Chongqing, diaoyu islands, Directives from the Ministry of Truth, Hu Jintao, Internet censorship, Japan, Jiangsu, Luo Jing, Mao Zedong, Ministry of Truth, netease, Old Summer Palace, patriotism, police, reform, Tsinghua University, Yangtze
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The translations are by Rogier Creemers of China Copyright and Media.

21 March 2006

Please immediately delete “Nationwide, 109 Professors Issue Open Letter to Call for Resistance Against Academic Corruption.”

20 March 2006

Please immediately delete the article about a doctoral supervisor at Wuhan University who is suspected to be involved in plagiarism.  Please acknowledge receipt, thank you.

20 March 2006

Information Office Notice (Fan Tao): Please immediately delete the article “Strike Incident of More than 200 Shops in Beijing Yashow Fashion Market.”

19 March 2006

Concerning reports on the “Yuan Baojing Hired Murder Case” are not to be played up by all websites, corresponding information is to be pushed to the back stage without exception, close news trackers, forums are also not to discuss this. The concrete implementation is: it may be reported on channels, columns, communities and banners, but not put on the front page; forums may issue standard or simplified copy from Xinhua Net, etc., items playing this up or inciting matters are to be deleted.

18 March 2006

Everyone, according to Japanese media reports, a number of Japanese members of parliament are planning to inspect the Diaoyu Islands on 20 March, this matter remains to be verified, and is not to be reported for the moment without exception, for relevant reporting, use Xinhua copy without exception, forums and blogs are not to discuss this matter, do not send short messages.

18 March 2006

Supervision and management information notice from the Information Office: everyone, concerning the case of a Japanese female student being attacked yesterday evening at Beijing Language and Culture University, there is to be no reporting without exception, forums are not to discuss this, please at the same time notify all blogs and search engines.

18 March 2006

Beijing Municipal Public Security Bureau Network Supervision Office notice: Brothers, very sorry, tomorrow, focus on supervising and controlling information on Japan, and information on assemblies and demonstrations related to Japan. If it is there, immediately call 85223522.

17 March 2006

On the case of consumers suing the Beijing Municipal Development and Reform Commission, and requiring to convene a special hearing on “dispute settlement on water resources and water pricing,” please do not put it on the main page of web sites and the main page of news centres, and close trackers. Please acknowledge receipt, thank you.

17 March 2006

Please delete articles corresponding to “Wen Jiabao Attends East Asia Summit and Responds to Stupid Ichiro Koizumi’s Tough Speech, Shock!!!!!!” or “Of China’s Present 599 Intercontinental Nuclear Missiles, 299 Nuclear Missiles Are Aimed At Japan,” if you see them afterwards, because their content involves State secrets.

16 March 2006

The source of the article “During the Two Sessions, Beijing Puts In 165,000 Police Man Hours and Sends Away 2000 Beggars” is incorrect, please delete it.

15 March 2006

Please do not put the Beijing News article “Special Interview with Huangfu Ping: Guard Against Denying Reform Under the Name of Revisionism” on the front page of websites, in the important news area, putting it in the domestic news section will do, at the same time, close trackers on this news. Please acknowledge receipt, thank you.

12 March 2006

Please do not put the case of “an explosion in a house in Leye District, Guangxi, killing nine and injuring four” on the front page of websites and in the important news section, do not set up special subjects.

It is stressed again that the case of the strange death of Milosevic is not to be played up.

2006年3月北京网管办发出的禁令（二）
2006-03-21

“全国109名教授发公开信呼吁抵制学术腐败”，请立即删除。
2006-03-20

武汉大学博导涉嫌抄袭原北大教师论文被起诉一文，请予删除。收到请回复，谢谢。
2006-03-20

新闻办通知（范涛）：“北京岳秀服装市场发生200多户商户罢市事件”一文，请立即删除。
2006-03-19

有关“袁宝景雇凶杀人案”的报道，各网站不要炒作，相关消息一律压至后台，关闭新闻跟帖，论坛也不讨论。具体执行为：频道、专栏、公社、动力可报道但不推首页；论坛可发新华网等正规或简化报道，炒作及煽动性的删。
2006-03-18

各位，据日本媒体报道，日一些议员拟于3月20日视察钓鱼岛，此事尚有待证实，暂一律不得报道，有关报道，一律采用新华社通稿，论坛、博客不讨论此事，不发短信
2006-03-18

新闻办的监管信息通知：各位，关于昨晚北京语言大学一日本女留学生遇袭事件，一律不报道，论坛不讨论，请同时通知各自的博客，搜索。
2006-03-18

北京市公安局网监处通知：兄弟们，辛苦了，明天重点监控涉日信息，涉日集会、游行的信息。有就立刻打电话　85223522
2006-03-17

消费者状告北京市发改委，要求召开“自行解决水资源水价”听证会一事，请不要放在网站首页和新闻中心首页，关闭跟贴。收到请回复，谢谢。
2006-03-17

“温总理出席东亚峰会回应小犬蠢一郎强硬发言，震撼！！！！！！” 或者是“中国现有的五百九十九枚州际核导弹中的二百九十九枚核导弹是对准日本的” 由于个中内容涉及国家机密，请以后看到相关的文章请予删除。

2006-03-16

“两会北京投入警力16.5万人次遣散2000乞讨人员”一文，稿源不对，请删除。
2006-03-15

新京报稿件《专访皇甫平：警惕以反思之名否定改革》，请不要发网站首页、新闻要闻区，放置在国内新闻区即可，同时关闭此新闻的跟帖。收到请回复，谢谢。

2006-03-12

“广西乐业县民房发生爆炸9人死亡4人受伤”一事及后续报道，请不要放在网站首页和新闻中心要闻区，不要开设专题；

再次强调米洛舍维奇死亡一事，不要炒作。

These translated directives were first posted by Rogier Creemers on China Copyright and Media on November 18, 2012 (here).

© Anne.Henochowicz for China Digital Times (CDT), 2012. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: academic corruption, Beijing, Beijing Internet Instructions, Beijing News, censorship, Censorship Vault, diaoyu islands, Directives from the Ministry of Truth, east asia summit, Guangxi, Huangfu Ping, Internet censorship, Japan, Junichiro Koizumi, Ministry of Truth, police, state secrets, two sessions, water, Wen Jiabao, wuhan, Xinhua, Yuan Baojing
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The translations are by Rogier Creemers of China Copyright and Media.

30 December 2005

(1) Websites may not play up the case of Cui Yingjie in Guizhou, for relevant information, only Xinhua copy is to be transmitted, information from other sources may not be used, do not set up special subjects, those already set up must be immediately removed, it may also not be discussed in forums. Management over forums, news trackers and blog websites must be strengthened, timely block and delete attacks, rumor fabrication, incitement and all other harmful information.

(2) Concerning the issue of litigation and compensation for the Songhua River pollution, without permission, this may not be reported on any website without exception, forums may also not discuss this, existing matters must be immediately removed. Management over forums, news trackers and other interactive columns must be strengthened, timely block and delete corresponding information.

30 December 2005

(1) All websites shall promptly make “Beijing News” into a filtering keyword for forums, news trackers and blog websites, and immediately implement this.

(2) Online public opinion management concerning the “6 December” incident in the Red Sea Bay, Shanwei, Guangdong must be further strengthened, strictly implement the spirit of the Information Office’s notices, further strengthen management over forums, blogs and individual websites, timely and firmly block and delete corresponding harmful information.

29 December 2005

Concerning the matter of today in the morning, where a man shot a home-made pistol on bus 14, do not send short messages, forums are not to report this.

Concerning the news of high-level change at the Beijing News, this is not to be reported or discussed without exception, please strictly implement this!

26 December 2005

The Independent Chinese PEN, presided over by Liu Xiaobo, recently has awarded the third “Freedom Writing Award” to Wu Si (Executive editor of the magazine “The Spring and Autumn of Yan Huang”), and awarded the “Lin Zhao Commemorative Award” to Hu Xuesong, concerning this matter, there are to be no online reports, forums are not to discuss or disseminate this, “Independent Chinese PEN,” “Freedom Writing Award” and “Lin Zhao Commemorative Award,” etc., may be made into keywords.

Concerning the matter of the associate head of a police station in Qingyuan, Guangdong being held as hostage, and being killed together with three villagers, apart from Xinhua copy, there is to be no reporting without exception, it may also not be issued in the important news section, do not set up special subjects, do not send short messages, forums are not to discuss this or spread rumors.

9 December 2005

All websites must further strengthen management over online public opinion concerning the incident in the Red Sea Bay, Shanwei, Guangdong and the mass incident at the Victory Oilfields, duty forces must be strengthened, the first contact person is to maintain 24-hour connectivity via mobile phone, guaranteeing that relevant management requirements are implemented timely and firmly; “Dongzhou” and “Victory Oilfields” are to be made into filtering keywords; all website forums and news trackers must firmly implement the system of examination first, publication second, and guarantee that all sorts of harmful information is timely blocked and deleted.

8 December 2005

Today, it has been received that articles concerning sisters of the Sacred Heart being beaten in Xi’an. Everyone seeing this content is to delete it without exception!!!

8 December 2005

Concerning the matter of a dispute arising between the Shantou Armed Police and villagers, with deaths and injuries (carelessness), this may not be reported without exception, it may not emerge in forums.

8 December 2005

Reports concerning a Master abusing a cat may no longer be published on the main page of websites and the main news page, no more surveys or crossfire-type content may be made.

8 December 2005

On the disaster at the Tangshan mine, only issue Xinhua copy, do not make large headlines, do not issue it at the top of the important news section do not publish it on the front page of websites, do not open news trackers, to not make it into a special topic. Forums are not to discuss the disaster at the Tangshan mine, corresponding commenting articles are not to be published without exception.

7 December 2005

1. The case of a vice-mayor in Jilin committing suicide is not to be reported without exception;

2. The case of the sudden incident of occupation of offices at the Victory Oilfields is not to be reported without exception;

3. Only use Xinhua copy for the case of a Central inspection group going to Jilin Chemical for investigation;

4. Only use Xinhua copy without exception for sudden incidents and natural disasters until the end of the year, do not place it in a prominent position, do not make large headlines, do not make focus pictures, do not make large titles, tracker quantities are to be strictly controlled.

1 December 2005

Concerning information on “Head Surgeon Takes Phone Call During Operation, Paralyzed Patient Claims 180,000 in Damages from the Armed Police General Hospital,” all websites are to report this no longer, do not play this matter up, close news trackers, play it down as soon as possible; the case of Li Jindou is not to appear on websites and news front pages; recently, some departments have dealt with a number of heretical organizations, not report this in any way.

The Hong Kong SAR government and the Hong Kong Chinese Liaison Office will organize a joint “Forum on Issues in the Political Development of Hong Kong” on the morning of 2 December in Shenzhen. All websites must timely transfer Xinhua copy well, and are not to use copy from any other source. They must handle this as regular news, not play this up and not set up special subjects. Management over forums, news trackers and other interactive columns must be strengthened, timely block and delete all sorts of harmful information not conform to the spirit of the Centre.

 

2005年12月北京网管办发出的禁令

2005-12-30

1、网站不要炒作贵州崔英杰案，有关消息只转发新华社通稿，不得使用其他来源的消息，不设专题，已开设的要立即撤除，论坛中也不讨论。要加强对论坛、新闻跟帖、博客网站的管理，及时封堵和删除攻击、造谣、煽动等各类有害信息。

2、关于松花江水污染诉讼和赔偿问题，未经允许，各网站一律不得报道，论坛也不讨论，已有的要立即撤除。要加强对论坛、新闻跟帖等互动栏目的管理，及时封堵和删除相关信息。
2005-12-30

1、各网站近期将“新京报”设为论坛、新闻跟帖和博客网站过滤关键词，立即执行

2、要进一步加强广东汕尾红海湾“12.6”事件网上舆论管理，严格贯彻新闻办通知精神，进一步加强对论坛、博客和个人网站的管理，及时、坚决地封堵删除相关有害信息。
2005-12-29

关于今天早上一男子在14路公交车上用自制手枪鸣枪一事不报道，不发短信，论坛不讨论。

关于新京报高层变动的新闻，一律不报道，不讨论，请严格执行！
2005-12-26

由刘晓波任会长的独立中文笔会，近日把第三届“自由写作奖”颁给吴思（《炎黄春秋》杂志执行主编），把“林昭纪念奖”颁给卢雪松，关于此事网上一律不报道，论坛不讨论，不传播，可把“独立中文笔会”、“自由写作奖”、“林昭纪念奖”等设为关键词。

有关广东清远一派出所副所长被劫持，与三村民同被杀一事，除新华社通稿外一律不报道，也不要发要闻区，不建专题，不发短信，论坛不讨论，不传谣。
2005-12-09

各网站要进一步加强对广东汕尾红海湾事件、胜利油田群体性事件网上舆论的管理，要加强值班力量，第一通知人保持手机24小时开通，确保有关管理要求 得到及时、坚决贯彻落实；将“东洲”、“胜利油田”增设为过滤关键词；各网站论坛和新闻跟帖要坚决落实先审后发制度，确保及时封堵和删除各类有害信息。
2005-12-08

今接到删除有关西安圣心修女被欧打的文章。大家看到有关此内容的一律删除！！！
2005-12-08

有关汕头武警与村民发生纠纷致人死伤一事（大意）一律不得报道 论坛中不得出现
2005-12-08

硕士虐猫事的相关报道不再发网站首页和新闻首页，也不再搞调查，交锋类内容。

2005-12-08

唐山矿难事，只发新华社稿，不做大头条，不发要闻区上部，不发网站首页，不开跟贴，不做专题。论坛不讨论唐山矿难一事，相关评论性文章一律不发。

2005-12-07

1.吉林一副市长自杀一事一律不报;

2.胜利油田突发性抢占办公楼事件一律不报;

3.中央调查组赴吉化调查一事只发新华社通稿;

4.岁末有关突发性事件与自然灾害一律只用新华社通稿,不发突出位置,不做大头条，不做焦点图，不做大标题,跟帖数量严格控制.

2005-12-01

有关”主刀医生手术中接听电话，患者面瘫向武警总医院索赔18万”的消息，各网站不再继续报道，不要炒作此事，关闭新闻跟帖，尽快淡化；李金斗事不再上网站和新闻首页；最近有关部门对一些邪教组织进行处理，不做任何报道。

香港特区政府和香港中联办于12月2日上午在深圳共同举办“香港政制发展问题座谈会”。各网站要及时转发好新华社通稿，不使用其他任何来源稿件。要作正常新闻处理，不炒作，不设专题。要加强对论坛、新闻跟帖等互动栏目管理，及时封堵和删除与中央精神不符的各类有害言论。

These translated directives were first posted by Rogier Creemers on China Copyright and Media on November 14, 2012 (here).

© Anne.Henochowicz for China Digital Times (CDT), 2012. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Beijing, Beijing Internet Instructions, Beijing News, censorship, Censorship Vault, Cui Yingjie, Directives from the Ministry of Truth, dongzhou, Guangdong, Guizhou, Hong Kong, Hu Xuesong, Internet censorship, jilin, Li Jindou, Lin Zhao, Liu Xiaobo, Ministry of Truth, rumors, Shantou, Shenzhen, Songhua River, Tangshan, Wu Si, xian, Xinhua
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Note from Cao Baoyin: The afternoon of June 30 I interviewed the  painter Luo Zhongli, drove him to the airport and then hurried back to the Western Returned Scholars Association [zh] to continue “listening in” on the forum. Not long after I sat down, I heard Liu Zhenyun, the famed author and recipient of the eighth Mao Dun Prize, deliver his speech. Liu and I are from the same hometown, and hearing the familiar inflections of my dialect in his voice was truly endearing. His description of the situation in the countryside was also familiar to me, so I enjoyed his lecture immensely. Liu’s speeches are every bit as brilliant as his novels—maybe even more so. Many times as he spoke the audience erupted into raucous applause. Their enthusiasm was real, not fake. The investor Xu Xiaoping, who was seated next to Liu in the VIP section, was often rolling with laughter. That evening as I dined with Liu, I made a point to say to him, in our dialect, “Your speech was really spot-on!” And because it was “spot-on,” I’ve decided to transcribe the speech from a recording and notes, even though it’s a terribly hot summer and I’m tangled up in other work. In order to preserve the original flavor of Liu’s speech, I abstained from making any grammatical or rhetorical adjustments, only polishing some of the text, adding notes about those present and splitting sections into paragraphs. This transcription has not been officially approved by Liu.

Like Huiyao said (Wang Huiyao, Vice Chairman of the Western Returned Scholars Association and Director of the Center for China & Globalization), in the thirty years since our graduation, members of the class of ’77 and ’78 have entered politics, business and every other kind of industry, rising or preparing to rise to the top levels of their respective fields. They are sure to make an impact on China’s next thirty, 300 and 3,000 years of development.

Actually, I think if they want to make a difference, it would as simple as asking ourselves: Can we first try out different ways of speaking, working and thinking from our own? For example, can we stop complicating simple things and simplifying complicated ones? Our nation has no need to search for absolute truths. People already have common sense; we’ll be fine so long as we utilize it. It is clear in our hearts what kind of life and society we should have, so why don’t we move in that direction? Why must we take these issues and make them so very complicated? Within these issues lie the problems of personal interest and interest groups.

And another thing: Can we stop being wasteful? On this matter, I think the change should not start from us country folk, but rather with those at the top. For example, tonight in my village, people will at most eat a bowl of noodles. But think about it: What kind of people are eating in all the restaurants and cafeterias from Beijing all the way out to the countryside? People with power and people with money. Of course, we do not object to eating. The problem is that upscale meals can cost tens of thousands of yuan. And did you eat it? For the most part, if we manage to finish 10% of the food, that’s not bad. So what happens to the leftover 90%? Compare us to another nation with an equal GDP or gross national product, and we would be at least 90% behind them. We produced this 90% and then wasted it ourselves.

And there’s also the waste of human resources. Could we start from the top here as well? I see those extravagant, completely useless award ceremonies on television, where all those leaders are just sitting there. How about we have just one leader sitting there, and all the others go do something else? I’m just a writer, part of a powerless group. I’m too weak to even tie up a chicken. So I’m just offering up some suggestions to you.

And another thing is our direction. There’s no more social country in the world than China, because China is a society of comedy. Can we maybe move just two inches in a more serious direction? China’s biggest comedy is Xinwen Lianbo (新闻联播) [CCTV’s nightly news simulcast]. Leaders read speeches from a script. Every person in attendance already has a copy, yet they still take notes. What are they writing down? I can’t figure it out. I think this is hilarious. Who are they fooling? Are they trying to fool me, watching on the other side of the screen, or are they fooling the leader delivering his speech? Is the guy who’s speaking happy or unhappy? Is he an idiot? You can read, right? And here’s another comic act from the leaders: They’ll hug a child as soon as they see one. If they come across someone about their same age, they’ll call her Granny and ask, “What’s your annual income? How many people are there in your family?” Abroad, these kinds of questions would be considered a violation of personal privacy. The question will leave the person tongue tied, and then the provincial governor and provincial Party secretary (who are accompanying the Central leader) will get anxious. “The (Central) leader is asking you how many people are in your family.” The person being asked the question will think about it, then answer, “Six.” The governor and provincial Party secretary will start clapping. What are you clapping for? Are you clapping because you’re happy you found out how many people are in this person’s family? Could our leaders cut down a little on the comedy?

And there’s also letter writing. Ever since the Qin Dynasty, if you wanted to write a letter to my village, you would of course address it to “The People’s Republic of China, Henan Province, Xinxiang City, Yanjin County, Laoliuzhuang Village, Liu Zhenyun.” But in other countries, you’d start with “Liu Zhenyun,” then “Laoliuzhuang Village” and so on. It’s a different way of thinking.

Beijing is not much different from New York, London or Sydney. But as an author, I’ve travelled all over China, and I’ve discovered the biggest differences lie in the countryside. If you go to Europe, South Korea or Japan, you’ll see the countryside is filled with natural beauty. But what about us? The reality is that our villages are surrounded by garbage. There’s smoke everywhere. I am quite moved on the road. Ai Qing [Ai Weiwei’s father] wrote a great line of poetry: “Snow falls on the Chinese land” (雪落在中国的土地上). At the time he wrote this, China was a country with problems at home and abroad, and white snow fell on this land of ours. Now, after touring around, I can only come up with this line, “Oh, China, why are you so dirty?” In the next thirty years, can we take a look at this corner of the country? Can we stop being so careless?

I have an uncle. He was the village Party secretary for several decades. There are two people he has admired in his life. The first person was Mao Zedong. He says, “I don’t know if Mao was good or bad, but at that time if you were to look for the county head or village mayor, they would be sober. If I go to look for these people now, in the afternoon, these people are pretty much all drunk.” The other person my uncle really admired was the former leader of Chongqing. They used to sing red songs and beat black there. “The weather in a liberated area is always fine,” my uncle said. But one day, in the still of the night, the central authorities delivered a piece of news that sent my uncle over the edge. Xiaoping, this was a document from the central authorities! What are you laughing about? (At this point Xu Xiaoping, who was sitting next to Liu, began laughing hysterically.) My uncle absolutely lost it. He said if this were a credit card, the last bit of his credit would have totally been exhausted. Turns out the singers of those red songs were actually corrupt and the crime fighters were murderers.

I think this kind of comedy—our nation, our mothers—who is watching over our mothers? And what of the sons and daughters of our mothers, the sons and daughters on the banks of the Yellow River, by the sea in Dalian and on the banks of the Huai and Yangtze rivers? Stop clowning around with them. Thousands of years have passed. We’ve seen enough. Can you talk straight to us? It’s like writing a piece of literature or filming a movie and getting only lofty, impractical feedback in return. “It seems a little gray. It needs to be corrected.” What does gray even mean? How should it be corrected? Speak in specifics.

This is the point I’m making. Although I have little to contribute, I’m still concerned about the world. Hu Shi is also an old Beijing University classmate of ours. He once said, if a nation constantly promotes morals yet neglects rules, that nation will become increasingly depraved. A nation that no longer promotes morals yet whose people all abide by the rules will enjoy a safe, honest society. (Note: Hu Shi’s original words are, “If a dirty country abides by the rules yet does not discuss morality, in the end such a country will become a humane, normal place. Morality will gradually find its way back. In a clean country, if no one has concern for the rules yet everyone speaks of morality and nobility, with nothing to do everyday but talk about ethics and standards, it will become a depraved, dirty country full of hypocrites.”) I think Mr. Hu is almost in agreement with me. My point is, I’m a poor guy, but in my heart is the innocence of a child. This is all I can do. It’s not likely I’ll be able to make use of this innocence in real life, so I guess I’ll just use it in my writing. My film Remembering 1942 (温故1942) [based on Liu’s novel of the same name] will be out at the end of the year, and I invite you all to have a look and see how our nation stubbornly survived.

That’s how things stand. Thank you!

The audience was invited to ask questions after all lecturers had spoken, and Liu addressed one of the questions. As I consider this part of his speech, I have also provided the question and answer here.

Question: Hello everyone. My name is Li Ziyin, and I’m an urban planner. I have a specific question for Wang Zhenyao and Liu Zhenyun regarding the democratization of the countryside and land reform. We see China has entered into an age of modernization, yet China still thinks and acts like a large agrarian nation. It is possible that China’s most central problems or opportunities still lie in the countryside. Democratization and land reform in the countryside can provide opportunity to rural youth. What suggestions or solutions do the two of you propose?

Liu Zhenyun: I’m an expert on rural problems because that’s where I grew up. Just now our friend in the audience mentioned the countryside and democracy. Based on the experience of my father’s generation and that of my forebears, the thought of democracy starting from the village puts the cart before the horse. Throughout the world, historical change has never started from the village. Calling for change that begins from the countryside will cause revolt, just as my friend Xiaoping said. Chinese history has proven this. In every instance throughout history, including in Eastern Europe, the United States and Europe, democracy started from the top. Democracy is at first a matter of the privileged few and is later bestowed as a great gift to the people of a nation. This does not work in reverse.

And another thing, I whole-heartedly agree (the original poster of this article added two question marks here; it seems to conflict with what follows) with my friend Zhenyao (Wang Zhenyao, Chair of Beijing Normal University’s Public Welfare Research Institute) when he said China is incapable of drastic change. (But he also said that) if China were to instate a multi-party system, chaos would result, because society has no mechanism to date with which to balance itself. I sincerely disapprove of this. I think China’s path, that of democracy and freedom—there isn’t a country in the world, or a single political party, that wouldn’t agree with this.

I think that former Xinhua reporter who spoke a moment ago said it right: When it comes down to it, what changes the course of human history? We always assume it’s politics or society. Actually, what really ends up changing history is technology. The steam engine, for example, changed human society. That invention set off a fundamental change in how people interact, and this lead to societal change. Take electricity, cell phones, the Internet, Weibo. All of these things changed humanity in a way that other things couldn’t. Is European democracy too extreme? People say all kinds of dirty things, but this is the beginning of democracy. “But why do you people always complain so much in your meetings?” some may say. “Can’t you say anything constructive?” Cui Yongyuan [the witty CCTV talk show host] once said that complaints are constructive. This is Cui Yongyuan’s biggest linguistic contribution to society since [Cui’s show] Speak the Truth (有一说一).

Actually, real democracy is like this: Tonight I’ll sleep well, and tomorrow morning I’ll wake up and eat a great breakfast. This morning I skipped breakfast because I was in a rush to get to the Western Returned Scholars Association. Really, everything we all say here is meaningless. It won’t make any difference. But it’s already made a huge difference in that we’re sitting here speaking of these big matters. Because it’s not enough for China to just have money or just have knowledge. These are both weak entities. Here we are, members of different disadvantaged groups, holding a forum. And yet, I think our contribution has already been made. Zhenyao said something a moment ago with which I enthusiastically agree. He said there is hope for our democracy. Our endeavor for democracy has been passed on to the 80s and 90s generations. I think this is absolutely correct. What’s the biggest reason why? Members of the 80s and 90s generations simply do not watch Xinwen Lianbo. Although we don’t understand what’s said on Xinwen Lianbo, we’re still concerned with what is said there. But the young folks aren’t even listening. They’re concerned about who they’re going to eat dinner with tonight or who to fall in love with. I think this is their biggest contribution to democracy.

The problems we’re discussing, as we gather here, are all about where China has gone in the past thirty years and where it will go in next thirty. I think this question, if left to people of our age to discuss and solve, is a lost cause. The 80s and 90s generations are concerned about where they’re going personally. That’s the big difference. If China’s 1.3 billion people all concern themselves with where they are going personally, the prospects for this country’s prosperity, development, democracy and science are all bright indeed.

I’m bursting with confidence in our nation. Thank you!

Translation by Little Bluegill.

© Anne.Henochowicz for China Digital Times (CDT), 2012. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Beijing News, Cao Baoyin, CCTV, Hu Shi, Liu Zhenyun, Luo Zhongli, Mao Zedong, Wang Huiyao, Wang Zhenyao, weibo, Xinwen Lianbo, Xu Xiaoping
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My friendship with Mr. Chen began in the summer of 2005, when a New York University professor, Jerome A. Cohen, arranged for us to meet at a teahouse in Beijing. Mr. Chen had traveled to the capital from his home in rural Shandong Province, and he told me about his plans to sue local officials for breaking the law by using forced abortion and sterilization to enforce the one-child policy.

Within days, I found myself touring the Shandong countryside with him as he collected evidence of the abuses. Mothers who had been pregnant with a third child, some more than eight months along, described being forced to have abortions, and relatives of couples who had gone into hiding told of torture and captivity in makeshift jails. Holding a digital recorder, Mr. Chen listened quietly; the villagers treated him like a hero.

We discussed the risks that a newspaper article might bring him. More than once, Mr. Chen wondered aloud whether the authorities would arrest him after my story was published in The Washington Post, where I worked at the time, but he always concluded that they wouldn’t dare. He believed the central government would step in and punish local officials in Shandong who were violating national policy. He also thought his disability would give him some protection. “Are they going to arrest a blind man for filing a lawsuit?” he asked me. I told him it was his decision, but I also agreed, perhaps too readily, that his reasoning made sense. Of course, we were wrong.

A short video discussion at The Economist’s Analects blog provides another summary of events since Chen’s escape from house arrest nearly two weeks ago.

As US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton took off for Bangladesh on Saturday, the possibility that Chen Guangcheng might be allowed to travel to the US to study attracted variously cautious optimism from observers and supporters. From a State Department release:

The Chinese Government has indicated that it will accept Mr. Chen’s applications for appropriate travel documents. The United States Government expects that the Chinese Government will expeditiously process his applications for these documents and make accommodations for his current medical condition. The United States Government would then give visa requests for him and his immediate family priority attention.

This matter has been handled in the spirit of a cooperative U.S.-China partnership.

Jerome Cohen—the one man Chen told embassy officials he felt he could trust, and the subject of a profile in The Washington Post—told The Wall Street Journal that Chen would be offered a place at New York University:

Mr. Cohen said he woke up Friday morning to news that China said Mr. Chen could apply to study abroad. “My eyes lit up like a pinball machine when I saw that, because that’s the way out of the crisis,” he said. Mr. Cohen called it an “exciting, low-key, dignified” solution for both governments.

The final details with NYU have not yet been worked out, he said. It’s unclear whether Mr. Chen will choose NYU if he indeed decides to go to the U.S. to study.

Mr. Chen must get a passport and apply for a visa, but could arrive at NYU as early as a month from now, Mr. Cohen said.

In a lengthy conversation with Foreign Policy’s The Cable blog, however, Cohen took a more cautious tone, stressing that no formal agreement had been made, and that a number of questions, not least about funding, remained unanswered.

There may be private understandings between the two governments. But nothing is assured, Cohen said, and the Chinese government’s statement was not the same as a promise, much less a bilateral agreement to do anything for Chen.

“The first question I asked is: What form will this take? Will this be in writing by the Chinese? At what level? The form that was contemplated was not that conventional. It was going to more like the Shanghai communiqué. One side says something and the other side doesn’t say anything,” Cohen said.

But Cohen was nonetheless upbeat, explaining that in the U.S.-China relationship, having the two sides make two unilateral statements and then act as if there were an agreement is a time-honored tradition.

“This is the real world and the way nations deal with each other,” Cohen said.

State Department officials said they “believe that steps will play out expeditiously”. Certainly, Chen’s departure would have its advantages from Beijing’s perspective, as Andrew Jacobs argued at The New York Times:

Based on past experience, China is often all too pleased to see its most nettlesome dissidents go into exile, where they almost invariably lose their ability to grab headlines in the West and to command widespread sympathy both in China and abroad ….

Human rights advocates cite the case of Wei Jingsheng, long one of China’s most famous prisoners of conscience, who sank into relative obscurity after Beijing granted him medical parole in 1997 and sent him packing to the United States. Mr. Wei, who now struggles to support himself through private donations, government grants and speaking engagements, said he longed for those first few months after his arrival when he was honored by United States senators and traveled to Europe on all-expense-paid lecture tours.

“At first the news media pays a great deal of attention to you, but then it wanes,” he said from his home in Maryland. “You lose your leverage to expose the crimes of the Chinese government.”

Tiananmen protest leader Wang Dan, on the other hand, said he that he had come to find exile “not a liability but an asset”, citing earlier generations of Chinese reformers who had spent time abroad and expressing confidence that “all of us who are exiles will one day return to China.” From an op-ed in The New York Times:

When I was younger I was arrested twice, and sentenced twice, because I had been a leader of the 1989 Tiananmen Square democracy protests and a participant in China’s civil rights movement. I was also released twice, giving me two opportunities — once in 1993 and again in 1998 — to make a choice between leaving China or remaining. The first time, I chose to stay. The second time, I chose to leave for America.

I have never regretted making that second choice, and now I want to reach out to Chen Guangcheng in Beijing and tell him he would not be making a mistake by doing the same. In addition to saving his family enormous pain, his leaving China now would not have to hamper his efforts to encourage change back home. In my own experience, being an exile has only helped ….

The Internet and globalization have changed the very concept of exile. They have eliminated the possibility of isolating Los Angeles (where I now live) from Beijing (my hometown), and Shandong Province (where Mr. Chen is from). My Twitter, Facebook and Google Plus followers number more than 80,000, and the vast majority of them are China activists in various parts of the world. Is this so different from staying? If I were in China under house arrest now, like Mr. Chen was for the past two years, I would have had to depend on the Internet for contact with the outside world anyway.

But loss of influence is not the only pitfall in leaving the country. Chen hopes to return to China in the near future, but there is so far no guarantee that this would be permitted: if allowing him to leave is appealing to Beijing, denying him re-entry might be equally so. The authorities’ actions on Friday did not inspire great faith in their good intentions: the BBC reported that journalists were threatened with revocation of visas for reporting from Chaoyang Hospital “without permission”. The Globe and Mail’s Mark MacKinnon tweeted that others covering talks between Chinese and visiting US officials had been asked to remove sunglasses, in case they were worn as a statement of support for Chen. Friday was Chen’s son’s birthday, and hospital staff presented him with a cake; but Liu Yanping, a volunteer at Ai Weiwei’s studio, was reportedly detained when she tried to deliver one. As reported yesterday, other supporters at the hospital were detained and in two cases severely beaten.

Paul Richter at The Los Angeles Times noted other issues with the proposed travel arrangements:

It is also not clear how soon officials will allow Chen to leave. Presumably, they could issue him a passport for swift departure. But they seem to want at least some delay, perhaps in hope that the worldwide attention to the case will diminish after the high-level talks end.

A delay of a few weeks on his departure won’t be important, but “if he’s still there after months, that’s going to generate reaction that won’t be good for either side,” said an American activist who has been close to the events.

It is also uncertain whether Chen will be obliged to return to his home town to apply for papers, as is legally required. Chen probably won’t want to do that, activists said, because of past mistreatment at the hands of local authorities.

In a New York Times op-ed, Wei Jingsheng expressed deep scepticism about the Chinese government’s sincerity:

From my experience, one can see how the Communist Party operates — why it makes promises and what its so-called guarantees mean. It is obvious that Mr. Chen did not understand the emptiness of these promises, which explains why he initially accepted the government’s pledges and left the United States Embassy in Beijing, where he had fled after escaping house arrest in his village, for treatment at a hospital. (On Friday, a tentative agreement that would allow Mr. Chen to travel to the United States as a student was announced ….)

Human rights have been overpowered by economic interests; the cause is as hopeless as that of the big United States trade deficit with China. With the loss of any viable economic means to pressure and penalize the Chinese Communist Party, one has to ask: On what basis does America believe that the Chinese government will keep the promises it makes?

Others also expressed reservations, but held out somewhat greater hope for the plan’s success. From The Guardian:

Phelim Kine, of Human Rights Watch, said: “The lesson of the last 48 hours is that expectations really need to be backed with concrete plans for delivery.

“It’s encouraging that the US government has confidence that the Chinese government will respond appropriately in this regard, but there’s no guarantee. What’s required now is public confirmation by the Chinese government and the issuance of a schedule for how and when this process will be completed.”

Chinese rights lawyer Tang Jitian earlier told AP: “This notice from the ministry of foreign affairs is positive news, but how it will play out we don’t know. For instance, getting the approval for the paperwork to go, there are many potential pitfalls. We can’t be 100% optimistic.”

At The Useless Tree, Sam Crane pondered the mystery of movements within the opaque Chinese government:

It is … too early to tell how all this is playing out at the highest levels of the CCP. No doubt this case is becoming enmeshed in the power transition now underway, to be completed this fall, involving the highest political positions in China: the Standing Committee of the Politburo. A farily common analytic line is that there may be splits among the current Standing Committee, with Wen Jiabao viewed as a more moderate voice, perhaps willing to compromise and work for some form of political reform versus the likes of Zhou Yongkang, who oversees the security apparatus and is assumed to take a harder line. It is really impossible to know for sure how this is playing out. It might be best, however, to understand it as a dynamic process. There is no one end point where one side or another can claim clear victory. Rather, every aspect of the on-going Chen case will be shaped by current differences at the top levels of power and struggles to shape the future composition of the Standing Committee. Thus, every facet of Chen’s situation – getting a visa; investigating Linyi officials; media representations; permission to return – will be subject to change depending upon how higher level power dynamics are playing out.

So, hold on to your hats. This saga is far from over….

In any case, the plan offers no escape for those outside, at most, Chen’s immediate family. From Gillian Wong at The Associated Press:

The turn of events for Chen, while welcomed by most activists and dissidents, is seen only as an individual victory and not likely to pave the way for improvements in China’s attitude toward its critics.

“I think that after the Chen Guangcheng incident, the situation for us will just become worse and worse, because in today’s society government power has no limits,” said Liu Yi, an artist and Chen supporter who was assaulted Thursday by men he thinks were plainclothes police while he attempted to visit Chen in hospital.

Liu Feiyue, a veteran activist who runs a rights monitoring network in the central province of Hubei, noted the importance of U.S. involvement in Chen’s case. “This is only an individual case. Because it turned into a China-U.S. incident, the U.S. put a lot of pressure on China, which is why the authorities made a concession to allow Chen Guangcheng to study overseas,” he said.

“Not all dissident cases can become international issues,” Liu Feiyue said.

Ministry of Tofu collected a broad range of netizen reactions to the study abroad plan:

切鲋撕鸡：Let him go. I had very limited knowledge and scanty information about him previously. On hearing his name, I googled him. I don’t whether his anecdotes are true or false. If they are true, the country has really failed him. If they are false, why not make them known to the public and bring him to justice? Why he is still allowed to apply to study abroad just as any other Chinese citizen can? My vision is blurred. I wonder if there will be breezes that can clear the fog.

暖小崖：I am just thinking, from now on, any Chinese that have a grievance can go to the U.S. embassy, and then Americans will become the yardstick for justice in China. [See Chinternet Meme: Office for Petitions and Appeals on CDT]

均金无忌：Going out is only possible with patriarchs’ consent. No matter how old you are, in the Heavenly Kingdom, you are always a minor.

水火同融：He is just a pawn used by imperial America against China, and some people really thought of him as a hero. How ridiculous that is!

Once the state media’s earlier silence was broken, many netizens commented on an official message they found, according to China Media Project’s David Bandurski, “embarrassing and exasperating”. The public handling of the episode as a whole, he wrote, may be “one of the most high-profile failures of Party propaganda we have on record“. This began after Chen’s departure from the embassy, which a Foreign Ministry spokesman greeted with an indignant call for an apology from the US. At Bloomberg, Adam Minter examined the demand’s reception online, quoting the reaction of one Sina Weibo user, GhostInTheHell, to the spokesman’s statement that “China is a country under rule of law”:

Excuse me, national rule of law spokesperson, it appears that Mr. Chen’s name is promptly deleted [from microblogs], according to which law? Again asking, your Honor, Mr. Chen’s house arrest of several years, was according to which law? Beating him was according to which law? Harassing his family was according to which law? Not permitting him to receive medical treatment was according to which law? Not allowing his daughter to attend school was according to which law?

Answers to those questions won’t come soon, but it’s also unlikely that the questions will stop. China’s netizens are becoming savvier about their news, their rulers and the role they play in making the latter responsive to the former. Wednesday night, NB Jianbo, an entrepreneur in Ningbo, a boomtown south of Shanghai, summarized that new role in an affecting tweet that referenced news about Chen Guangcheng and several additional “sensitive” news stories from recent weeks:

We are concerned about these events … not for the purpose of undermining social stability, but only because we are concerned about the state of the country, the state of society, and because we are patriotic.

Xinhua’s terse initial acknowledgement of the situation was followed by a stream of editorials denouncing Chen as a tool of the US; Gary Locke as a Starbucks-sipping, backpack-toting, troublemaking fake; and the Western media for blowing the whole affair out of proportion. “One leaf,” wrote Mo Nong at China Daily, for example, “is not the whole forest“: Chen and the US were each “taking the advantage of each other for their own purposes”.

Some in the United States have a Cold War mentality and turn a blind eye to what China has achieved in its protection of human rights and they spare no opportunity to speak ill of the human rights conditions in this country.

The Chinese saying that a leaf before the eye blocks the view of a mountain describes the situation that occurs when some Americans look at human rights issues in China….

Those who wag their tongues about China’s human rights conditions should also realize that in a country of nearly 1.4 billion people it is natural that there will be disagreements, disputes or even conflicts between local residents and local officials.

It is not fair for some Westerners to champion a particular case such as Chen’s in order to attack China’s overall human rights conditions, especially as the country is determinedly progressing its human rights.

A Global Times article based on an interview with professor Wu Danhong continued the theme:

Admittedly, today’s China has some loopholes in grass-roots governance.

There are systems and laws in China, but the sense of the law at the grass-roots level is still weak ….

Unfortunately, when trying to attract the international spotlight by being violently against the government, Chen became a political pawn and was used as a tool to work against China’s political system by some Western forces ….

Chen now has turned from an activist into a political tool of some forces with ulterior motives. China’s grass-roots conflicts, which come from imperfect governance, have been magnified immensely.

In the process, no matter it’s within his intention or not, Chen lost his own ability to speak.

Eric Fish translated highlights from other articles at his Sinostand blog, while David Bandurski analysed the “editorial onslaught”. From China Media Project:

The inclusion of the Beijing Times and The Beijing News in the editorial mix today was of particular note, as until recently both papers, which have substantial circulations, were central-level publications — the former a spin-off of the People’s Daily, the latter under Guangming Daily. The Beijing News in particular has long had a reputation as one of China’s top professional newspapers, and its brazen use in today’s salvo was upsetting to many Chinese journalists.

Veteran news editor and former CMP fellow Gong Xiaoyue (龚晓跃) wrote on Sina Weibo: “The Beijing News has been raped. And Beijing Daily has again screwed out a climax. No one seems to have any shame.”

Bandurski later reported a poignant and startling backlash from within one of these newspapers, in the form of a mournful weibo post which survived for almost 24 hours until being taken down on Saturday.

One of the most surprising and powerful pronunciations on “Editorial-gate” came at exactly 00:00 today, May 5, 2012, as one of the papers involved, The Beijing News — a paper with a proud though brief tradition of professional journalism — posted a touching plea for forgiveness on its Sina Weibo account, which has more than 1.38 million followers.

The post was accompanied by a black-and-white photo of a circus clown taking a sad and solitary drag on a cigarette, and read:

In the still of the deep night, removing that mask of insincerity, we say to our true selves, “I am sorry.” Goodnight.

© Samuel Wade for China Digital Times (CDT), 2012. | Permalink | 4 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Beijing Daily, Beijing News, Chen Guangcheng, China Daily, David Bandurski, forced abortions, forced sterilization, Global Times, Hillary Clinton, human rights watch, Jerome cohen, Jiang Tianyong, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Philip Pan, Shandong, sina weibo, study abroad, Tang Jitian, United States, wang dan, Wei Jingsheng, Xinhua
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An AFP report said in its lead that both newspapers were “under new management,” not bothering to explain what that meant. Further down it quoted an Internet user as saying both papers had “been downgraded.” Huh?

In one of the better reports, The Guardian cited suspicion among some Chinese journalists that the reshuffle had something to do with bold coverage of the July 23 Wenzhou train collision, which had sparked “official anger.” But the idea of a generalized “official anger” failed to address why a story more directly implicating national-level railway officials and local officials in Wenzhou and Shanghai would have generated such focused concern among city officials in Beijing.

So, “official anger,” sure. But which level of “official anger” is most relevant here — national or municipal? In fact, the idea that the Wenzhou train crash was an important factor behind this management change doesn’t accord well with how press politics work in China.

The Diplomat, clearly also confused by the move, even noted that the two newspapers had “now been taken over by CCP media authorities.” Like all media, of course, both newspapers have been under the control of “CCP media authorities” since birth. The difference now is that these papers are under the control of municipal authorities in Beijing rather than central authorities. Their new managing institution representing CCP media authority, in other words, is a notch down on the Party totem pole.

Breaking through the confusion and understanding what has happened to The Beijing News and the Beijing Times means revisiting how media are controlled institutionally in China, and specifically the crucial role approval and registration of media plays in securing Party control over them.

© Sophie Beach for China Digital Times (CDT), 2011. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Beijing News, beijing times, media conditions, media control
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@jajia: From today on, remove the administrative and editorial oversight of the Beijing News from the Southern News Group, and transfer it to Guangming Daily Group. 今日起，取消南方报业集团对新京报的业务指导权，转交光明日报报业集团。

From Sinaweibo:

@aihuijiangtao: it was said that Beijing Times (under People’s Daily) and Beijing News (under Guangming Daily) both will be under the control of Beijing Municipal Party Committee Propaganda Department, belonging to Beijing News Group. @安徽蒋涛：据说，人民日报旗下之京华时报，和光明日报旗下之新京报，都将划归北京市委宣传部管辖，隶属京报集团。

While none of the above information has been confirmed by any official source, “Beijing News” “新京报” and “Beijing Times” “京华” have both become forbidden search words on Sina Weibo since yesterday.

Update: China Media Project points to a weibo post by Caijing editor Luo Changping in which he confirms that the two newspapers will be moved under the direct administration of the Beijing Propaganda Department.

© Xiao Qiang for China Digital Times (CDT), 2011. | Permalink | One comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Beijing News, beijing times, media censorship, newspapers, press freedom, sinaweibo
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A popular Chinese newspaper could face punishment after printing a picture of casualties in the 1989 military crackdown on anti-government protests, a taboo subject.

The Beijing News, a Chinese-language tabloid widely read in the capital, published an interview with a Hong Kong-born American photographer who in the 1980s worked in China.

But the otherwise unthreatening story and selection of his photos on Wednesday included a small picture of injured men being carried on the back of a three-wheeled cycle — apparently shot after the Communist Party crushed the 1989 pro-democracy movement centered on Beijing’s Tiananmen Square.

The picture in the inside pages of the popular daily is titled “The Wounded.”

© Liu Yong for China Digital Times (CDT), 2008. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: 1989 protests, Beijing News, media censorship
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I’ve asked a few of China’s more celebrated journalists why it is that they tend to neglect their celebrity blogs. The main reason, they say, is because the same Chinese portals who so wish to host their blogs often cannot publish their posts.

In his own roundabout way, Sohu.com news editor Chen Feng ÈôàÂ≥∞ (pictured) mulled the relative constraints in print versus online on his own celebrity blog last week. His ruminations have since hovered near the top of the charts on the BBS Journalists’ Home.

Chen happened upon fame in 2003, as the Southern Metropolis Daily reporter who scooped the story of Sun Zhigang. A disciple of storied Southern Metropolis editor Cheng Yizhong, Chen moved to Beijing with Cheng and clan in 2003 to start The Beijing News. There he served as metro editor. Once that paper imploded at the turn of this year, Chen made the jump to Sohu. He’s not always been the happiest camper. With the author’s permission, Biganzi translated his essay. It’s titled, “China had no CNN, so came the news portals”:

I was watching a TV program a few days ago. An advertising industry whiz was saying, the premise of making an ad is that your product must do the talking. If it doesn’t, then better the ad is, the faster the product will die.

After I arrived at an Internet company, a lot of the language changed…

(...)
Read the rest of How I’m Learning To Love The Web -Chen Feng (1,389 words)

© Jonathan Ansfield for China Digital Times (CDT), 2006. | Permalink | No comment | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: Beijing News, censorship, Cheng Yizhong, press freedom, sun zhigang
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