The Council on Foreign Relations has prepared a Backgrounder on the recent crackdown on the media in China:
The upcoming 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing and recent regulations about the distribution of news from foreign wire services are drawing international attention to censorship tactics in China. Even as the country’s burgeoning economy allows greater diversity in China’s media coverage, the preexisting monitoring system piles on new restrictions and fines, and the government continues to detain and harass journalists. But experts say the growing Chinese demand for information is testing a regime trying to use media controls in its bid to maintain control. [Full text]
