The following censorship instructions, issued to the media by government authorities, have been leaked and distributed online. Chinese journalists and bloggers often refer to these instructions as “Directives from the Ministry of Truth.”
Central Propaganda Department: Bo Xilai will be escorted to Jinan, Shandong Province on the evening of the 21st and tried at the Jinan People’s Intermediate Court on the 22nd. The presiding judge and public prosecutor have already been determined. Unified plans have been made for related reports; the media must not independently report this information. (August 21, 2013)
中宣部：薄熙来将于21日晚被押解到山东济南市关押，22日在济南市中级人民法院开庭审判，审判长公诉人均已确定。相关报导有统一安排，各媒体不得自行报道此消息。
This is the third propaganda directive CDT has published on Bo Xilai’s trial: read directives from July 26 and August 20.
Follow CDT’s Bo Xilai Trial liveblog for updates and background on the case.
CDT has collected the selections we translate here from a variety of sources and has checked them against official Chinese media reports to confirm their implementation.
Since directives are sometimes communicated orally to journalists and editors, who then leak them online, the wording published here may not be exact. The original publication date on CDT Chinese is noted after the directives; 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.
