A meeting chaired by President Hu Jintao on Monday called for the “mastering of new trends in cultural development” and for an emphasis on “Chinese characteristics” as part of the proposed overhaul, Xinhua news agency said.
Details of the draft changes to be considered by Communist Party leaders next month were not given, but analysts said they were likely to tighten Beijing’s grip on newspapers, television and popular social networking sites.
“All cultural controls have the essential political mission to shape the people’s mind to not directly challenge the party rule, to accept the status quo,” said Xiao Qiang, a media expert at the University of California, Berkeley.
“It highlights their nervousness and their awareness of the increasing challenges to their ability to control the cultural sphere.”
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